The game of rugby has changed a lot since David Secord started playing 50 years ago.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not as rough as it was,鈥� said Secord, a member of the very first team.
鈥淚n our games, you鈥檇 turn around and there would be a line of players lying on the field and [from that] you could tell which direction the ball had gone,鈥� Secord laughed.
Doug Hughes, a member of the same team, said the changes have been for the better.
鈥淚t鈥檚 faster [with] a lot more ball movement,鈥� Hughes said.
Secord and Hughes were among many former players who attended Alumni Day at the club on Saturday, April 13.
When the club was formed, games were played on borrowed fields in borrowed uniforms, they recalled.
鈥淲e played on a high school field,鈥� Hughes said.
鈥淥ur jerseys were football jerseys. We didn鈥檛 have a lot of money.鈥�
Secord recalled an abrupt transition into the sport.
鈥淢y football coach said to me I should play rugby, so I came out [one] day to watch and he stuck me in the game,鈥� Secord said.
鈥淭hen I went to see the men鈥檚 team play on the weekend and I played in that game, too. I went from not knowing rugby, to being on the men鈥檚 team, all in a space of two days.鈥�
Secord and Hughes joined four other former members for a photo with their original team picture.
For Alumni Day the club hosted a series of games, including two that pitted the two 91原创 senior men鈥檚 teams against visiting clubs from Richmond and Kamloops.
Richmond ended the season for the 91原创 Division 3 men with a 15-10 loss, while the Division 2 team obtained a spot in the provincial semi finals by defeating Kamloops 23-14.
READ MORE: VIDEO: 鈥楻espect All, Fear None, Expect Victory.鈥� 91原创 Rugby celebrates 50th anniversary
Alumni Day was part of a series of events held to mark 50 years of play at the club.
91原创 Rugby Club chair Brian Anderson said there are plans for a June 1 gala that is expected to draw former players from overseas.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had lots of players from new Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and England,鈥� Anderson said.
Since the 91原创 Rugby Club was founded in 1969 , it went on to purchase and develop the playing field that has been the club home for almost 30 years.
Today, the club runs many teams including minis (5 years and up), junior boys and girls, women, and two squads of senior men.
91原创 Rugby Club has won several league and provincial championships and many 91原创 Rugby players have gone on to play for regional, provincial and national teams.
The club motto is 鈥淩espect All, Fear None, Expect Victory.鈥�
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