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Busy day for Halton rugby champ OT The goals were simple: Win the game. Avoid injuries. And no bruises to the face. Despite checking off each item on their to-do list, the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils didn't take much time to celebrate their ninth straight Halton senior girls rugby title. As soon as the trophy was presented and the medals hung around their necks, the players rushed off to get ready for prom. Hours later, it's unlikely they resembled the gritty, hard-hitting, tackle-busting, highly-efficient rugby machine that plowed past the Christ the King Jaguars for a 55-5 victory last Thursday. OT went on to whip Hamilton's St. Jean de Brebeuf 96-0 on Tuesday in a GHAC semifinal to qualify for OFSAA. Though the defending provincial champions have beaten every team in league play by 48 points or more, the Red Devils took nothing for granted in the Halton final. Taylour Hurd broke free for a long run and touched the ball down for the first try before the game was 30 seconds old. "It was a big game for us," said OT captain Simone Oliveira. "We try not to count our chickens before they hatch. We still have to get there." There is the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament, where the Red Devils claimed gold in 2012 and '15. Now as the No. 1-ranked team in the province, and with a pair of tournament victories against some of the best teams in Ontario under its belt, OT may have its strongest team yet. "This team is super athletic," said Red Devils' coach Dan Valley. "We're bigger than we have been in the past so we can stand toe-totoe with teams that have tried in the past to steamroll us." But make no mistake, the Red Devils are still fast. One Christ the King player lamented to a teammate, "I'm getting there as fast as I can, but by the time I get to them, they've already off-loaded the ball." Hurd added her second of four tries at the three-minute mark. The Jaguars broke the shutout -- just the sixth try allowed by OT in eight league games -- but Bridget Peros responded with a pair of tries in the next 10 minutes. Hurd and Hannah Izzard added two more before the half and with five converts by Hannah Nasribeygi, the Red Devils took a 40-5 lead into the half. OT added three more tries in the second half. A good hit by Oliveira jarred the ball free from a Jaguar player deep in CtK's end, setting up Hurd's fourth try. Peros split two would-be tacklers for her third and a good run by Emma Hawkswell set up a try by Diana Gauthier. "When we play teams, we want it that they don't want to play us again," Oliveira said. The Grade 11 student knew little about rugby before starting high school, but she learned quickly. "It's such a big thing at our school," she said. "Our team is family, and once you're part of that family, it carries through." Valley said that comes from the players and their commitment to the team. "It's how much they buy in and how hard they work. That keeps the program moving forward," he said. "The girls that were on the team last year have a pretty clear picture of how to prepare and what it takes to be successful." -- Herb Garbutt 39 | Thursday, May 26, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com minOr Oaks hOckey assOciatiOn (4 year olds, 2012 birth year in 2016/17 season) jr. timbits new this fall Evaluation Skates October 15-16, 2016 Season starts October 22, 2016 Gala Day March 5, 2017 players On ice Once/week Saturday Mornings price $249 Hinchcliffe fastest of nine in pole pursuit continued from p. 38 first two races, Hinchcliffe had three straight top-eight finishes leading up to the Indy 500, including his first podium finish in more than a year two weeks ago. After setting the fastest time of the day in Saturday's first day of qualifying, averaging 230.946, Hinchcliffe followed up his performance Sunday as the nine fastest drivers competed for the pole position. Hinchcliffe, the final driver on track, topped Newgarden's 230.700, to claim the pole. "You can ask and you can do all the work and you absolutely never know until you've got to mash the gas, and he did it today," team owner Sam Schmidt said of his driver. "He did what nobody else could do today. So I think that is a huge story. I would like to have the better one next weekend as well, but that would make a movie for sure." Hinchcliffe knows there is still a lot of work to do before writing a Hollywood ending. "We still have a long race to get through. But I think one day I'll appreciate it a little bit more maybe than I'm letting myself today," the 29-year-old said. "It's crazy. I've said it already a hundred times just on the way over here, but it's incredible what a difference a year makes." It will be Hinchcliffe's third time starting on the front row in five Indy 500 starts. He started second the other two times, including the 2012 Indy 500 where Ryan Briscoe edged him by the narrowest margin in the race's history. Briscoe's average speed of 226.484 barely topped Hinchcliffe's 226.481. He went on to finish sixth that year, his best-ever finish in the race. There would be no denying Hinchcliffe on Sunday, though. "This is definitely a point of pride today for all the hard work the guys have done back at the shop, support from Arrow Electronics and Honda stepping up huge this year. That thing was a dream to drive," he said. "You have to hang it out here at Indy in qualifying. I know that, I've missed the pole twice by fractions. I kind of felt bad for Josef ­ not that bad for Josef because I've been there before." Pole sitters have won 20 of the previous 99 races, though none have managed to do it in the past six races. The last pole sitter to win the race was Helio Castroneves in 2009. Though winning the pole is no guarantee, Hinchcliffe knows one thing for sure. "We have the best seat in the house for the biggest race in history." OptiOn tO purchase equipment packages protective package includes shoulder, elbow, neck, mouth, shin pads, pants, bag. $49. full package includes Protective package, skates, stick and helmet. $99. Equipment will be fully fitted through Corbett's Source for sports. MOHA is a member association of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. All coaches are OMHA certified. · Have FUN! Play Hockey! Learn the FUNdamentals! · Professionally trained instructor overseeing the program · NHL themed teams · Questions? Please call the MOHA 905-338-9220 Registration forms available online at www.moha.ca