The Grizzilies made a statement in their opening game of their Calgary Rugy Union tier 2 season on May 6, with a 87-10 mauling of the Calgary Saints.

Coach Tyler Hawes was impressed with the play of his team and says the months of preparation was a contributing factor.

"The boys' skills were pretty on par," says Hawes."They were throwing the ball around, playing some good structure and we were  recognizing the space and exploting it, so that was pretty keen. There were some nice tries being scored."

"The boys have been training really hard since January and you can see the worked played off, in that first game anyway."

Keeping the game plan simple also helps.  

"It's really about doing the little thing right and being able to execute," says Hawes. "It's not about having big fancy plays, it's about doing the simple things right and that's what they did."

He continues to be impressed with the skill level of the players coming up from the local high school team. Four of the recent  recruits started in the game and one of them scored a hattrick.

As lopsided as the victory was, it wasn't the most crushing victory recorded by the Griz. Last season they beat a team, 100-0, says Hawes.

The Grizz are playing their home opener on Friday at Mitford Park. Kick off is 7 p.m.

The Irish handed the Grizz one of their two losses last season.

In other men's rugby action, the tier 3 Babaas lost their opener 67-47 against the combined Rams/Saints squad in a high scoring affair that saw lots of tries being made.