The Nanaimo Hornets have one more chance to try to finish off their fall season; otherwise, it will extend into winter.
The men’s Div. 1 rugby squad, which had its scheduled Vancouver Island championship match against the Port Alberni Black Sheep postponed from this past Saturday, will try again this coming Saturday (Dec. 17). But the host club recognizes that this week’s makeup date might not work much better.
“It doesn’t look positive because of the weather…” said Clive Stocks, Hornets coach. “It’s looking just as cold this weekend.”
The Nanaimo club worked last week to try to make its pitch at May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park playable, but couldn’t.
“It’s the frozen ground that was killing us. It was pretty well too hard to play on, it was real close, but where it was muddy, the mud had churned up into great big lumps. They were going to bust ankles and that sort of stuff. It just wasn’t safe,” Stocks said.
The postponement is problematic because the Hornets will be without a couple of players who have other commitments that will keep them away from the pitch.
“They’re some key players that we’re losing, so it is a concern, but I’m not too worried about our depth because we’ve got 26-28 players who can step in anytime and we’re not going to be losing too much by bringing in somebody else to replace them,” Stocks said.
GAME ON … The Hornets and Black Sheep hope to play Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Park; failing that, the match will be postponed again until Jan. 14. Fans are asked to watch the Nanaimo Hornets’ Facebook page for updates.
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