The Cowichan Valley Lumberjacks will represent the entirety of School District 79 in high school rugby this spring. (Submitted)

A bold experiment in high school boys rugby is going forward in the Cowichan Valley.

With interest apparently waning at public high schools in the area, several local schools are joining forces to field one team, representing all of School District 79.

Dubbed the “Cowichan Valley Lumberjacks,” the team consists of players from Cowichan Secondary, Frances Kelsey, Lake Cowichan, Chemainus and the Cowichan Valley Open Learning Co-operative. A number of individuals put their heads together to create the program, including Cow High coach Tom Fogarty, Kelsey coach Craig Schmidt, Kelsey athletic director Adam Johnston, and Cowichan Rugby Football Club junior coordinator Kenton McNutt.

“Both Cowichan Secondary School and Frances Kelsey Secondary School have been light on numbers for their boys rugby programs this season,” Fogarty related. “Rather than not running boys rugby programs at those schools this spring, it was decided that there will be a district-wide rugby team which will represent all four SD79 schools: Chemainus, Lake Cowichan, Frances Kelsey and Cow High.”

Fogarty and Schmidt are the head coaches, with support from senior and junior members of the CRFC. Robin MacDowell, a Cow High grad who now coaches the Canadian U18 sevens team, among other projects, led a training session earlier this month, and others who have stepped up include Randy Barton, Gary Dukelow and members of the Gudmundseth family.

The first training session on Feb. 7 drew strong interest from Cowichan Secondary, and numbers have grown steadily with the influx of players from other schools.

“It is truly a team of the Valley and it is the first time something like this has been successfully implemented,” Fogarty said. “Training has been very intense and always fun. We now have a squad of about 30 players and are looking forward to the upcoming season.”

The plan is to play games across Vancouver Island this spring, and the coaches hope to enter the Scrum Fest tournament at Claremont in April. While they don’t know what the future may bring for the Lumberjacks, the coaches are excited to see how this season plays out.

“Maybe this will be a one-off endeavour, depending on numbers again next year, or maybe it is the beginning of something that will last a while,” Fogarty said.

“Nevertheless, we are very excited about the great attitude and camaraderie that the boys have shown to date, putting aside longstanding rivalries to come together for each other. Rugby at its core is about respect, hard work, dedication, and unity. We hope that being a part of this team will instill and reinforce these values at the highest level, improving the lives of many young men in our great Valley.”