Written By Brian Lockhart

The Centre Dufferin District High School Royals girls varsity rugby team competed for the District 4/10 championship with a final game against the John F. Ross CVI Royals from Guelph on Ross home turf on Thursday, May 21.

The CDDHS team had a stellar season, finishing in second place with a 5-1 record. They proved to be a very strong team, talented and skilled, with a good work ethic on the field.

They were also well coached by a team that put a lot of effort into shaping the team this season.

Going into the playoffs, the Royals faced Guelph Collegiate in the semi-final on Tuesday, May 19.

The semi-final was a good game between two skilled squads.

When the Guelph team scored to come within two points of Centre Dufferin's lead, the Royals responded by putting out a strong effort to score two more times to win the game 35-19.

“I think everyone came out and just played their hardest,” said Royals team member Jillian Brooks after the semi-final game. “We played hard and our drive was good It was a fast paced game.”

Teammate Brook Baird said she thought the Royals put out a good effort.

“I think it was a good game, we tried hard,” Brook said. “It was a close game. I think we all were a little shocked when they came at us so hard, but we came back. They're a very strong team. I think we spread out on the field very well and got the ball to the outside. Our forwards did an amazing job with the ball.”

The final game against John F. Ross turned out to be a really tough battle. Ross finished the regular season in first place with an undefeated 6-0 record.

The Ross team averaged just over 58 points per game this season.

In the final game, the Centre Team just couldn't get past the Ross defence and had to settle for a 31-0 loss.

The Centre Dufferin team had many younger players this year who gained valuable experience.

Those players can bring that experience back to the field next season.