Kings Arms Bulldogs win N.S., Maritime D-1 rugby titles

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

They might be the best-kept secret in the Valley and maybe the province.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Kings Arms Bulldogs senior men’s rugby team added the Caledonia Cup Maritime Division 1 championship to the McCurdy Cup provincial D-1 title they had won the previous weekend.

Playing on their home field in Kentville, the Bulldogs topped the New Brunswick champion (and four-time defending Maritime champion) Fredericton Loyalists 14-8 in the Caledonia Cup final.

Ryan Alguire had the winning try for the Valley squad. Alasdair Bishop, chosen Man of the Match (the rugby equivalent of game MVP), also scored a try and Ty Gill converted both scores successfully.

In the McCurdy Cup final for the provincial D-1 championship Oct. 25 at Shannon Park in Dartmouth, Kings Arms outlasted Cole Harbour 34-29 in a match that took five overtime periods to decide.

The first two overtime periods, both 10 minutes long, are scheduled when regulation time ends in a tie score. The final three overtime periods were sudden-death, with the first team to score winning.

Alguire again had the winning try, with Bishop, Geoff Bylund, Matt Durant, Chris Miller and Darren Brown also scoring tries and Miller kicking two converts. Bishop was once again named the Kings Arms Man of the Match.

The Bulldogs have competed in the Nova Scotia Rugby Union for the past 21 years with some recent success, reaching the McCurdy Cup final each of the past five years and winning back-to-back provincial titles in 2005-2006 in addition to this year.

This year’s victory was the first-ever Caledonia Cup win for Kings Arms, which lost the interprovincial final in 2005 and 2006 to the Fredericton team that had held the Caledonia Cup since 2004.

This year’s Bulldogs was a true Valley squad, with the roster including graduates of Middleton Regional, West Kings, Central Kings, Horton, Avon View and Kings-Edgehill as well as the former Windsor Regional High School.

The Kings Arms club is also committed to the development of high school rugby in the Valley, with five of the seven VHSRL head coaches members of this year’s team.