Well the first half of the Highlanders season ended on Tuesday night with a large loss to the Grads who have been on fire for the last several games. The Grads were coming off a 70-nil thrashing of the defending provincial champion Rogues squad, which while admittedly depleted by Prairie Fire and Summer Fishing trips are still not a squad to be taken lightly. 

The Grads used their formidable quickness in putting up a big score quickly, stealing (filthy bastards) a lot of ruck ball, and breaking many very poor tackle attempts through our forwards. 

The HRFC responded by powering over a few tallies of our own, using the strength of our set pieces to smash our way down the field. With first year front rower Brad and the newly married Steve Krause bookending our own Brit Lion Phil Buckley, the Highlander scrum could not be touched in the first half. 

With the Prairie Fire not playing this week, Paul Burch, Drew Kendel, Nathan Perkins, Corey (Hard Core) Burkholder, Curtis (Reckless) Tokarchuk and Jonny Clifford returned to the side. 

On the plus side of the game report, the scrimmaging was excellent and the line-outs were working when communication was flowing. The boys were getting around the park well, showing that head coach Ian Kydd has been keeping them fit. The downside was obviously a lack of one-on-one tackling that led to a lot of easy tries by the Grads, and our speed at the breakdowns cost us a lot of our own ball. 

REGULARLY SCHEDULED PRACTICES WILL BE MONDAY AND THURSDAY AT 6:30 AT THE RUGBY CLUB. SEE YOU THERE!

If you have any questions, contact Head Coach Ian Kydd, President Grant Cranfield, or myself, Paul Burch. 

As we head into the Cup Contention half of the season, we look forward to a steady build towards the playoffs, and expect big things from some of our new and returning players. 

We still haven’t seen what we could do as a club if we trained together to prepare for a game. Make the Commitment, men. Sacrifice the time. Work as a team. Victory will come.

>Home field play off advantage for First and Second place teams for games played June 26^th ; if Moose Jaw is in first place then final game on Thursday June 28^th to be played in Moose Jaw.   

The Highlanders returned from Lethbridge with a 3-2 record and second place. They opened the tournament with a deciding victory over the host Trolls.  The HRFC squad, bolstered by Calgary Alumni Dean Schwebius, Jason Szekely, Adam Brown and Josh Howe and Lethbridge Alum Shawn Beskowiney continued on to a hard loss to the Mount Royal Wild Cats. Playing a third game on the first day the HRFC then edged out a vastly reinforced Trolls team in a sudden death victory with the game winning try scored by Dean Stenhouse. The evenings festivities were excellent fun (highlighted by an interpretive dance session with Josh and a few others) and the boys enjoyed themselves entirely – still managing to stay fresh enough for a semi-final rematch against the Mount Royal Wild Cats. This time it was HRFC victory all the way and the Highlanders were headed to the final. Down to fifteen men because of injury, they recruited a single reserve who came in after Beskowiney threw himself in front of a Samoan freight train head first. The Highlanders energy reserves were depleted after more than 180 minutes of rugby in 24 hours, and the larger, faster U of C team with a deep bench was able to defeat us in the championship game.  

However, the weekend was a total success, with a huge amount of fun and a lot of rugby for everyone, allowing Coach Ian Kydd to see where the club will need to retool some things prior to the first game of the season.  The tour also revealed the toughness and skill of rookies Kyle Barth and Alex Tayco. 

Austrailian utility player Nathan Perkins makes his return to Regina this weekend. 

The team trains SUNDAY, APRIL 1st, 2:30pm U of R, gym 3.   

The Highlanders held a steak night at Tony Roma’s while a blizzard raged outside. It was well attended and there were left over ribs so the crowd must have been well fed. Tony Roma’s hosted us in a mystery room behind the restaurant. The event was sponsored by Great Western Brewing company once again, thanks to Johann Lozinski, and by all accounts the evening was a success. There were 47 people in attendance including parents, co-workers, members of the Junior squad and many friends, which is what we want when we hold a social event. The evening rapped up early with many people racing home to get away from the 6 inches of snow that fell while we were eating. A small contingent moved across the street to Jonny Foxes and enjoyed a few quiet ones and some excellent stories.

Training is at 5:30 this Sunday and will include a tactical session to help prepare the team for Trollfest.

Their tours have included numerous trips to Edmonton for the world famous May Long Weekend Rugby-Fest, several trips to the northern United States, and a tour to Denver Colorado in 2001 where they defeated the Denver Highlanders by over 50 points, proving there can be only one. In 2007 they will travel to Lethbridge Alberta for Troll Fest in March, and will have representatives traveling to view the international matches of Rugby World Cup 2007, hosted by France.

The team motto of Commitment, Sacrifice, Teamwork and Victory was coined in 2006 and seeks to reinforce the values that are required of Highlander players.

Commitment to the team. Commitment to fitness. Commitment to fun.  Commitment to eachother. 

Sacrifice of self. By becoming a part of the team players are given opportunities for fitness, camaraderie, and accomplishment. They are expected to make the sacrifice of time and sweat to earn these accolades.

Teamwork. No man can accomplish by himself what he can as a part of a team. The Highlanders are not a showcase for superstars, they are a hard working group of individuals committed to the team.

Victory. As Vince Lombardi once said, there is no greater feeling than lying exhausted on the field of battle, victorious.

This creed is personified in Drew Kendal and Jon Clifford as current members of the Super League's Prairie Fire, in such HRFC alumni as Dwayne Lamontagne, Leonard Rogochewsky, Mike Richardson, Team Canada Captain Mark Lawson and in the youth of juniors like Curtis Tokarchuk.       

In 2007, the Highlanders intend to solidify a place of dominance in the Saskatchewan Rugby Union and continue to grow the club through its commitment to youth development, player development and the development of the sport of Rugby.  

2007 Club Executive:

President:  Grant Cranfield

Vice President / SRU VP Men's Rugby:  Paul Burch

Treasurer:  Kathy Lynas

Head Coach:  Ian Kydd

High School Coaches:  Kelly Adams, Steve Krause, Dean Stenhouse, Josh Howe

Captain:  Eric Mahon

Check back often for upcoming events, info updates, pictures, player profiles, game results and good times.