Ruck stars: North Nova

NEW?GLASGOW - There's nothing pretty about the way the North Nova Gryphons' boys rugby team operates.
After graduating several top players last season, the team needs to rely on guts to crave out victories, and so far, it's working.
After dropping their first two games of the season, the Gryphons have won three in a row, with the latest conquest coming at home yesterday against the Cobequid Cougars.
"We're just tough, man," said Bryan Campbell after yesterday's 12-0 triumph. "We're a lot better than I thought we'd be after losing the guys we did last season. (Cobequid) kept coming at us, but we held our ground and didn't give in near our goal-line."
Campbell himself had a lot to do with the win. The Grade 12, multi-sport athlete scored both tries, never shies away from physical contact and is a leader on the field. Josh Bennett rounded out the scoring by kicking a convert.
North Nova will probably need to win games like this one to remain hot. They can grind it out, as proven by about five near their five-yard line against the Cougars. It all makes for an interesting season for a squad that missed a provincial championship by just five points last year against Avon View (a 17-12 loss).
Coach Andrew Bell says things need to be a little different this season without as many star players. The Gryphons now employ the K.I.S.S. method - Keep it Simple, (Students) to win games.
"You can't call the same complicated plays under pressure, because every player reacts differently to that," Bell added.
The North Nova girls team doesn't have the same problem. They feature a host of dynamic players, and yesterday's 28-5 drubbing of a very good Cobequid team proved that the Gryphons can hang with the top schools. The team has yet to lose this early season, and spread the scoring out over both halves.
Brittany?Heighton collected two tries, with singles going to Emily Dicks, Michelle Jones and Krista Dunn. Dunn added four converts for North Nova, which scored two tries within the first 15 minutes, then got two more in the game's final 15 minutes.
"Cobequid is a very tough team, so this was a very important game for us to win," said Dougall MacInnis, the girls' coach. "It sends a bit of a message in the sense that we're two of the stronger teams, and we might be fighting it out for a spot in provincials down the road."
The girls' Gryphons actually fought their way out of some early penalty trouble, then pushed the play to Cobequid.
These are all good signs, but MacInnis noted the bigger test will be a trip to Avon?View for a tournament next weekend. There, the Gryphons will get a close-up look at the best teams in the province and see how they stack up. After all, Avon?View won both the boys and girls provincial championship banners last season.
Before then, the boys and girls play Northumberland on Tuesday. The boys play at 4 p.m., with the girls' game following shortly after.