If this was the first major test of the season, the Bow Valley Grizzlies passed with flying colours.

In their May 12 home opener, the Grizz downed the Irish, 64-0, and remain undefeated in their first two outings of the tier 2 Calgary Rugby Union season.

Coach Tyler Hawes was impressed with how his team dominated the play.

"It was a huge win for the boys. I think they even played a lot better than last week. They definitely manned up," says Hawes. "I'm really happy with the first 20-30 minutes when the Irish were playing really strong defense.We were going in hard but maintaining possession and we were just waiting for our opportunities to come and they did."

The icing on the cake was the fortitude the Grizz defence showed when it looked like the Irish we're going to break the shutout in the dying moments.

"That's what I really enjoyed, that they were as proud to not get scored on as to score points, that tells me a lot," says Hawes.

Dave Evans has returned to the Grizz lineup this season and his teammates were giving him the room he needed for his tries.

"He's definitely an impact player and we're getting him space on the outside and he's taking it to the house."

From the get-go the Grizz were spreading out their attack and moving the ball fluently and Hawes said the core training has paid off.

"We're trying to attack from these outside channels and that's why we're moving the ball around and we have guys who can do it."

The Grizz are off this week and they're taking the opportunity for do some goal setting. Then they're bound for Red Deer next week.

The Grizz won the Southern Alberta tier 2 title in 2016. Early in this season they remain formidable in tier 2 and while they have give serious thought of making the jump to tier 1, Hawes says they don't have the numbers yet. That may happen, though, in the next year or two, if they continue to have success in building the team through the junior and high school programs. 

A cool and windy night didn't discourage a healthy crowd at the home opener.

"There was a great crowd, great atmosphere, and I'm really happy with all that," says Hawes.