Dalhousie rugby club returns to nationals
Former player turned head coach Adam Anshan leads program to unprecedented heights
By: Meredith McCullum and Ethan Hunt
For the first time in program history, the Dalhousie University men’s rugby club won the Atlantic university rugby championship, defeating Memorial University 34-23 on Sep. 26.
Dalhousie last advanced to the national tournament in 2021 after Memorial and St. Francis Xavier University declined their playoff spots. Now, after three straight Atlantic final losses to Memorial, the Tigers broke through to claim the title.
Isaac Misener had the game-sealing play when he intercepted an offload and took it in for the final try. Dal’s captain, Harrison Stewart, was on defence when it happened, alongside Declan Hearn.
“I coached [Hearn] in his high school senior year when he started playing rugby,” Stewart said. “It was just crazy to be on the field with him and celebrate with him. It was a great feeling, literally four years in the making.”
Significance of qualification
Dalhousie will head to Montreal to participate in the national tournament at École de technologie supérieure from Nov. 11 to 16.
Head coach Adam Anshan hopes the Tigers’ trip to the national championships will draw more young recruits.
“[We’re] really looking to start developing that positive feedback cycle of ‘We go, we attract more talent, we grow that talent, we do better at nationals,’” Anshan said. “Our goal is to build the Dalhousie program into a nationally competitive program.”
Anshan played rugby at Dalhousie when he was a student. He said today’s Tigers have opportunities that weren’t available when he repped the black and gold.
“Back then, there was no national championship,” Anshan said. “We never really had the opportunity to showcase our game on the national level … It’s going to be amazing to represent the school.”
Next steps
The players have done their job qualifying for nationals, but the Tigers face a financial challenge ahead of the tournament next month.
The team set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $40,000 for travel expenses, like transportation and hotels — the page has raised just over $12,000 so far.
“Unfortunately, the school is not in a position to really help us this year,” said Anshan. “The community’s been unbelievably helpful, but we still have a long way to go.”
Anshan is focused on preparing his players for a new level of competition, eliminating errors as they brace for tough competition.
“We’ve got to take our opportunities when they’re presented to us and be incredibly clinical. If we’re able to do all that, maybe we can go up and punch them in the nose and surprise them, but we know it’s going to be really difficult.”
