The Eastman Warriors beat the Wasps in the semifinal match on Saturday in Steinbach, punching their ticket to the final later this month.
After the victory, Warriors’ Coach Darian Brown told SteinbachOnline that it was great to host the game and have fans cheer them on.
“Anytime you can host the game at home, your fans come out, you don't have to travel as far. That is the better way to go. And it was awesome to have a sunny day, nice breeze and we've had great crowds all year. So, thank you very much to everyone who came out all year. It's growing... momentum is good.”
The Warriors will face the Assassins in the final.
“We played the Assassins two weeks ago and they were beating us 34-22 at the half. We played sloppy and they played great in the first half. Fortunately, we ended up winning 53-34, I think. So, our second half was great. But they are playing very well and so it's going to be very tough for us to beat them, we'll have to have that A-game if we bring our A-game, we can win, but it's going to be very hard.”
Brown says it will be important for the Warriors to avoid making high tackles in order to win the big game against the Assassins.
An important part of preparations for the final, there are some injuries that need to heal.
“So, it is great to have a week off. We have a couple of guys who rested today in anticipation that we'd make the final and so that's number one, getting our athletes as healthy as possible, and we got to just work on fundamentals. Just keep it simple and work hard.”
Following the game on Saturday, the Warriors invited their fans and the Wasps to join in for a fun evening with food from the canteen, live music and games for the kids.
@steinbach_online The #Eastman #Warriors beat the #Wasps 44-5 in the semifinals. Read more at #SteinbachOnline. #Rugby #Manitoba #playoffs #sports ♬ Downtown - Balynt