Assassins take inaugural Spirit Shield in hostile territory

The community spirit inherent to sport was on display at A.D. Penner Park Aug. 14, as the Winnipeg Assassins and Eastman Warriors played in the first Spirit Shield match.

The longtime friendly rivals in Manitoba Rugby’s Premier Division have decided to put something a little extra on the line for their regular season matches, with the Warriors commissioning a shield style trophy the winner gets to take back to their clubhouse for the year.

The Assassins had a strong performance, winning 39-21 and getting revenge for the Warriors handing them their first loss of the season earlier in the month.

Isi Masi presented the shield to the Assassins, noting the Warriors as a program have always looked up to their Winnipeg counterparts.

“It’s awesome playing in front of fans, and you guys are some of the only fans out there,” Assassins captain Tyson Borys told the crowd after accepting the shield.

“Coming here is awesome, we love when you guys come to us. (The Spirit Shield) made it all the better. We’ve been dying to get this for weeks now, you gave us motivation and it’s not leaving our hands.”

Warriors head coach Darian Brown hopes the tradition started Aug. 14 will be a highlight for players for many years to come.

“You could tell it gave (players) motivation,” Brown said.

“The Assassins are a good team. You can tell they have a system, and they really stick to it. They play within their system.”

The Assassins commit extra players to the ruck after a tackle, with their entire team working to support the ball after their initial runner is tackled.

“There so committed, they’re all-in, they’re very good,” Brown said.

Their methodical offense up the field combined with good ball control and a great kicking game (Winnipeg went 3/3 on penalty kicks to add a scoring boost) meant the Assassins were able to grind out a quality win.

“It seemed like tonight, sometimes we were rushing it a little bit or we were hesitant, as opposed to being in that sweet spot,” Brown said.

“It’s not that we didn’t play well or didn’t have effort, but you’re either a little hesitant or a little antsy.”

The Warriors made a game of it in the second half, finally creating some turnovers and converting with three tries of their own, but the extra points the Assassins found in the kicking game gave the visitors a margin to play with.

Brown said a performance like the one the Warriors had in the Spirit Shield match won’t be enough to win their third consecutive championship, even if the team gets a few more bounces along the way.

“We have to be better,” he said.

“I think what can happen is sometimes you get in a groove where you rely on your athleticism and at some point take over the game. Last year that was more of a thing we could do. Today, we have to work for it a bit more.”

After an 0-3 start to the season, the Warriors are hoping to battle back up the standings. They’ve finished at or near the top of the Premier Division standings since 2022. The team will host another home match at A.D. Penner Park Aug. 21. A game scheduled for Aug. 7 had to be re-scheduled due to poor air quality.