B10

Jon MacNeill
Telegraph-Journal

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SAINT JOHN - The Trojans Rugby Football Club Under-20 team play their first match of the season Saturday, headlining the club's reunion weekend game-day at Hazen White Field.

Mark Irish, a junior squad coach, said it's appropriate to highlight the day with a under-20 match because the program is so important to the future success of the club.

"I think everyone acknowledges (the under-20s) demand our focus because they are our future," Irish said.

While the Trojans have had junior teams before, it wasn't until last year that the executive established a solid development program to produce the A siders of tomorrow.

"The club's gone through a bit of a transformation over the last few years. We found that we weren't getting many younger kids out, and we could only rely on our older players to bring in the wins for so long," Irish said.

The Trojans men's team has a rich history of success in Maritime rugby, but in the last decade the arch rivals from the provincial capital have stolen some of their glory.

The Fredericton Loyalists defeated the Trojans for the provincial title last year, and are the defending Caledonia Cup and Maritime champs, winning the title the last four years and six of the last nine. The Trojans took the cup once during that period - in 2003.

"We realized if we want to get the club going again then we need to get the younger guys," Irish said.

Around 20 players came out to the under-20s first practice last Tuesday.

"It's still early in the season, our numbers aren't quite what we'd like but we're confident more will come out," Irish said.

He was encouraged at the skill-level of many of the junior players, particularly their tackling and aggression.

"We definitely have a lot of promise on the team."

Right now the main hurdle is building team cohesion.

"With many players coming from different high schools it's really just learning how to play as a unit, and learning the Trojans' style of play."

In their debut season last year, the under-20 Trojans made it to the championship game where they lost 24-10 to the Fredericton loyalists.

Irish said there are a lot of returning players who are eager for a title rematch, but the coaching staff are taking things one step at a time.

"Our focus is getting the players used to each other, and playing some good solid rugby this season."