Beth Couling ready for Dinos rugby challenge

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This article was published 11/06/2024 (741 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Beth Couling’s introduction to rugby happened a decade ago, when she signed up for Brian Yon’s flag rugby program in Souris while in Grade 3.

Think of it as Timbits hockey for kids learning a new sport on skates with a puck and stick, but the only difference is Couling learned the basics of rugby, without tackling as the kids had to stop an opponent by grabbing a flag attached to their belt.

“Playing flag rugby for me was doing something in my small community where I did not play hockey,” she recalled. “I found a sport when I was younger that piqued my interest and I’ve been playing it ever since.

“I started playing tackle rugby when it was introduced in middle school, Grade 7 or 8. There’s something special playing this team sport … I play basketball, volleyball, badminton and softball when my high school had a team, but rugby is my sport.

“And now I’ve been fortunate to help out with Brian’s flag rugby program as a youth coach the past two years. It’s great to connect with the kids, where I used to be starting to learn rugby … it’s adorable to see the kids having fun discovering rugby like I did.”

Yon’s fall flag rugby program has developed some kids, like Couling, who years later are wearing the Sabres’ rugby jersey once they arrive at high school.

SABRES HOOKER

Fast-forward to 2024, and Couling is still playing rugby for Yon, her Souris Sabres girls’ coach since Grade 9. The five-foot-six hooker the previous two years playing for her high school team, she was moved to the No. 9 position — scrum half — this season which meant more responsibilities as she quarterbacked, or directed her young and inexperienced teammates, on the pitch.

“I’ve done a lot more since Grade 10, and have been captain of the team every year in high school because I’m the most experienced on the team,” she said. “I’ve played lots of positions, so I have an understanding of the game … I can play No. 9 or No. 10, but because of my size I started out at forward, or hooker.”

While she does not mind her new role this past season, Couling concedes she’s a better forward than playing as the No. 9 during a 15s game.

Born in Brandon but raised in Souris, Couling said rugby is an interesting sport when it comes to making new best friends because she’s now close with many of her opponents since she started with the Sabres, which led to joining the Westman Rugby team or Team Manitoba during the summer months.

“The girls I’ve played against are now my best friends with Team ‘Toba or Westman. When I was on Team ‘Toba in Grade 10 I went to Kelowna, B.C., and in Grade 11, we went to Calgary to play.

“I have learned to play so many different positions, which is great, as my start with Team ‘Toba I played flank.”

This past season, Yon was looking for his young team to gain experience which they can use in following seasons, without Couling at the helm, as she’s off to Alberta this fall where she’s enrolled at the University of Calgary, and has been recruited by the Dinos rugby team.

She had looked at Brandon University, University of Regina and Calgary as three potential landing spots for post-secondary schooling and rugby.

“I can thank Bree [Walker] for having me choose the Calgary Dinos,” she said. “Coming from a small town like Souris, I wanted to go to a city for a new life experience. So, Bree and I went to Calgary for a week at spring break to see the campus and talk with the coaches.

“I have two aunts and two uncles in Calgary, and usually visit there at three times per year, so I am familiar with the city.”

The visit proved fruitful for both Walker and Couling, as they both committed to the school’s rugby team this spring and will be roommates living in residence when they leave Manitoba in mid-August to begin training for the U Sport season in September.

Walker played No. 10 with the provincial champion Dauphin Clippers and the two knew each other as Team Manitoba teammates.

MATHEMATICS

Couling plans to major in mathematics, with a goal after six years to be a math teacher. Her love of math is evident as she spends one hour each day as an education assistant in a Grade 7 math class in Souris.

“I love working with kids who are struggling with math, then see them when they get their groove on knowing how to solve problems,” she said.

Couling, who was named Rugby Manitoba’s under-18 female player of the year for 2023, takes the same approach when she’s mentoring kids in the classroom as she does on the rugby pitch with youngsters trying to figure out the game.

“It’s all about the love of the game, for me,” she said. “When I compare it to football, I say it’s harder to play rugby. I’m still learning at every practice, and every game I’m involved in.

“I don’t think it’s harder to play because the game is constantly moving, whereas you have so many whistles in football, and lots of sports I play like basketball.

“You’re always running in rugby, unless you are stopped for a scrum. You have to be giving 110 per cent all the time moving the ball … you’re always on the grind, with no time to think. You react running down a tackle.”

Couling does not shy away from physical contact — she welcomes it as you see her pursue an opponent for an open field tackle, to rushes in to create a ruck.

“There’s physical contact in rugby all the time, which is where you develop a relationship with your teammates to work together moving the ball, or taking the ball from your opponents,” she said.

Post-game, Couling laughs when she describes the bruises and cleat marks she collects playing physical on a rugby pitch where 30 players are in constant collisions.

“I had to tell Bree when I was having my grad pictures taken and the marks on my knees from her during provincials.”

CONFIDENCE

Based on her decade being involved in rugby, Couling believes her strength as a player is her experience, plus confidence that comes with it.

“For me, I’m always trying my hardest which comes with my confidence in what I know I’m doing in the game. I’m always giving 110 per cent … my size comes into play, but it’s knowing the game and knowing my responsibilities which helps me running the lines, tricking the defence during the game.”

Where does Couling see herself as a rookie on the Dinos team? She plans to make an impression during training camp because she wants to play, not watch from the bench.

“I’d like to play hooker, but I’ll go where the coaches think I can help the team,” she said. “I’m open to what the coaches want me to do based on what they think I can bring to the game.

“I have to remember I’m no longer the leader on the team as I have been with the Sabres because now I’m the rookie … as a freshman, I need to learn the flow of the game playing for the Dinos.”

One of her biggest cheerleaders is her dad Chris Couling, Souris’ volunteer fire department’s chief.

“I look up to my dad for his huge roll in the community, and he’s trying to understand the game I’m playing,” she said. “He’s just happy I found something I enjoy doing and is productive.”

U SPORT DINOS

With graduation coming up in Souris, and about to complete her Grade 12 provincial math exam, Couling has been out practicing with the Brandon Barbarian women’s rugby team every Tuesday and Thursday night at John Reilly Field to continue honing her rugby skills.

She’s also waiting on word what Team Manitoba and Westman Rugby have planned for the summer season.

“It’s frustrating for us right now because Rugby Manitoba has not let us know what’s happening when it comes to the teams,” she said. “We just want to play rugby, but right now do not know what’s happening.”

While it was not the result she was looking for, Couling was still happy with the silver medal her team won recently at the girls’ provincial championship held in Dauphin, hosted by the Clippers, winners of the Westman High School Rugby league title.

“We got some ground on them in the Westman final, but with provincials, we would have to play our best against a team with 11 graduating players, comparing to our four,” she said, noting her team of 16 had just one spare compared to Dauphin’s seven reserve players. “My team is very young, but the experience they gained from that final will only help them in the future. You only get better with more experience.”

The Clippers eventually prevailed 92-0 after going up 53-0 at the half, but the final score was secondary for Couling and Yon, who went out to have some fun and get game experience against a talented squad led by her future Dinos roommate Walker and Megan Thompson.

Trading her Sabres jersey for a Dinos jersey this fall, after a summer of provincial and club rugby, Couling is looking forward to the next chapter in her life when it comes to playing rugby in Alberta.

Perhaps in the future, once she’s earned her teacher’s certificate from the University of Calgary in 2030, she will return to the small town atmosphere she’s grown up in and take over from Yon and coach the Sabres girls’ team when she’s not teaching math in the classroom.

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