International Rugby Rapidly Approaching in Chatham-Kent

July 28, 2011 12:02 am

Canada's Womens Rugby Team - Photo from Facebook

When the United States and Canada take the field at the Chatham-Kent Community Athletic Complex on August 5th for the TekSavvy Kent Cup, local organizers are expecting the anticipated crowd of over 1,000 people will be electric. The Canada-USA womens rugby match, which follows an equally heated battle between the top womens teams from South Africa and England at 5pm, takes to the field at 7pm.

The 7pm game, with tickets ranging from only $5 to $15, is a rematch of the 2010 World Cup when the United States eliminated Canada, but that’s not all the event means according to Kent Havoc Rugby President and event organizer Laverne Hanley,

“This will be a monumental battle between the 5th ranked USA and the 6th ranked Canada for the TekSavvy Kent Cup. There is more than international rankings and participation in the Nations Cup tournament on the line, this game is for the CAN/AM bragging rights and pride in the maple leaf. I expect no less of these two teams than if it was a USA versus Canada hockey game.”

Not only is the TekSavvy Kent Cup a large rugby event on the field, but it marks a large event off the field for the community, and the local rugby scene that said landing and organizing an event of this scale might seem daunting, but is well worth the work,

“I feel that securing these types of events in a small, tight and supportive community truly demonstrates that we all need to aim high,” said Hanley. “I hope that other clubs and sports will also develop a vision for what could be and pursue hosting national or international sporting events.”

Thursday in preparation for the event, an OLG sponsored Municipal Civic Reception meet and greet will be held at the Thames Art Gallery allowing the public to interact with players, while the night of will also be enhanced by the Royal LePage Peifer Realty licenced Hospitality Zone which will be located next to the Athletic Complex.

Rugby is one of Canada’s fasted growing sports in both the mens and womens divisions, and in Chatham-Kent that fact stands true. Only 5 years ago, the Kent Havoc Rugby Football Club which plays out of Chatham had only 30 members. Now however, the club is thriving with three club teams fed by a strong high school girls rugby program in Chatham-Kent, and a developing boys program at UCC. Now, with yet another major international event in Chatham-Kent, it’s obvious that rugby is here to stay.

For those who have never seen or tried rugby, the international event August 5th offers a unique opportunity to see the game and learn first hand, particularly for young women to see strong international calibre female athletes participating in a phsyical and fast paced game,

“I expect that there will be many people coming out to the game for the ‘curiosity factor’ alone,” said Hanley, “Yet this is a rare chance in our own backyard to see female elite athletes representing four of the top 10 countries in the world in a sport that is on a very strong growth trajectory internationally. These women are roles models for all of us, as they embody effort, commitment, trust, teamwork and high performance.”

“Attendee’s should come to this game if they like to see fast paced sport, hard hitting tackles, thrilling scoring and be a part of the spirit of the rugby culture – camaraderie. After 80 minutes of battle, you will see that these teams will be humble in victory and will celebrate their opponents success.”

It’s with that message of camaraderie that the local rugby community has continued to grow and will continue to grow in Chatham-Kent, particularly as the region continues to draw in large international events such as the August 5th Teksavvy Kent Cup to showcase to the region what the game of rugby is all about.