Rugby Manitoba inducts hall-of-fame class

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This article was published 04/11/2019 (2510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Rugby World Cup just wrapped up in Japan, and our province has a rich history with the game that can be traced back to 1879.

The earliest matches were played on a vacant lot at the corner of Broadway and Hargrave Street. The Winnipeg Rugby Club was formed in August 1880, and two seasons later the players were divided into two groups, the Cricketers and the Footballers. In 1890, in the first matches against a team from outside the city, the Winnipeg team played the Northwest Mounted Police from Regina. 

In September, 1929, at the Royal Alexandra Hotel, Winnipeg hosted the first annual convention of the Rugby Union of Canada. Representatives from four provinces attended the meeting where a body to govern the sport throughout Canada was established. That season in Winnipeg matches were played at the Norwood Grounds and Fort Osborne Barracks. Wanderers, Garrison, Grain Exchange and St. John’s played in the top division. The intermediate division had a Grain Exchange B team, along with Morse Place, East Kildonan and Roughriders while four teams competed at an under-18 junior level. The next year the Winnipeg School Board recognized rugby as a sport. 

Rugby Manitoba has a current registration of approximately 4,500 players, with nine men’s and six women’s teams competing at the senior level. The 2019 championships were held at Maple Grove Park on Oct. 5 with Wombats A beating Assassins in the senior premier final and Wasps downing Wombats B in the senior D2 playoff. Assassins won the women’s title over Wasps.

With more than 40 schools running rugby programs, the sport appears to be in a healthy position with just under 1,100 school-age girls playing and about 1,300 boys. 

On Oct. 5, at The Gates on Roblin Boulevard, the local rugby community honoured its 10th Hall of Fame class by inducting three players and two builders.

Sid Roberts spent 30 years with the Winnipeg Wasps and represented Manitoba nationally and Canada on the international pitch. He also played in the Canada Super League where he won a MVP award. 

Shannon Ploegman-Smith was the most valuable player for the Wanderers women during her 11 seasons with the club. She played for Manitoba teams nationally four times and twice for Canada.

A graduate of St. Johns High School, Brian (Benji) Marchak was a Rugby Manitoba all-star with the Saracens from 1980 to 1984 before taking a break to build his career as a firefighter. He returned to the team as a player in the late 1980s and coached Saracens to the provincial premier championship in 1990 and 1992.

The two builder inductees have very lengthy resumes. Arleigh Mackenzie has spent nearly three decades as a player, coach, referee and administrator. She coached or helped develop teams at Kelvin, Shaftesbury and Tech Voc high schools as well as provincial teams. She served as president of the Sturgeon Creek Rowdies and held several executive positions with Rugby Manitoba. Randy Dilk, meanwhile, was a six-time MVP with Assassins, a team he later co-coached. During his coaching career, which included time at his alma mater, Churchill High School, as well as at the provincial team level — his teams won more than 20 championships. He also became a high-level referee.

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Did world-renowned actor Richard Burton play rugby when he was stationed in Manitoba with the RAF during the Second World War?

As a youth in Wales, Burton was more interested in becoming a rugby player than an actor. Legend has it that he did play here, but Ray Hoemsen, the Manitoba Rugby Hall of Fame chair and historian, said they haven’t found proof. It is probably safe to say, however, that Burton would have participated in the partying that rugby players are noted for.  

Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com

T. Kent Morgan
Memories of Sport

Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com

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