Provo photos: Myrna Matina
Utah hosts its final four in two girls’ high school divisions – Cup and Trophy – beginning Friday night and will name its champions Saturday, May 13. United is the leading presence in the league, fielding teams in both divisions (along with Kau Toa), but there is a healthy battle occurring between teams just below the reigning state champions.
Provo is among those squads mixing it up in the Cup division this year, and it’s been a massive improvement for a squad that experienced a frustrating season in 2016. That uptick in performance can be linked to the coaching, and it’s helping build club support.
“I’m one of those concerned parents from last year,” said Provo’s first-year coach Sione Fisiipeau. “They had a team last year and I just felt the coaching wasn’t doing its job. So I decided to get my coaching certificate to jump in and coach this year.”
When Fisiipeau took over the Steelers this year, no one had CIPPed (registered with USA Rugby) until the night before the first league game – against United – and the coach was unsure if he’d have the numbers for a full team.
“That first game was really bad,” the coach remembered the shutout. “None of the girls knew how to tackle. But even though we got killed, I was already hearing from parents that they saw big improvements from last year.”
Fisiipeau focused on the basics, and every time the team needed to regroup during halftime or fight back from a deficit, the coach reminded his players to rely on their training. A little more instruction saw Provo follow up with a 22-22 tie against Snow Canyon.
“We felt we were ripped off in that second game, so we came in pretty hungry for the third and fourth games,” Fisiipeau said of subsequent wins against Herriman (39-36) and Kao Toa (22-17). “They kept fighting; they’re just resilient. We start out slow in the first half and teams run over us, but in the second half, we start to gain momentum and confidence, and then we win games. … They perform better under pressure; I just wish they could do it in the first half.”
The regular season ended with blowout wins against young teams Brighton, Skyridge and West Valley, and Provo ended with a 5-1-1 record. Those wins boosted confidence but also strengthened the trust between players, as they learned to support each other on the pitch.
“When the girls started to win games, there was a big change from a lot of the parents and community,” the coach said. “They wanted to come watch the girls play and we had good turnouts to games.
“They deserve this winning season,” Fisiipeau added. “I’m trying to change the culture here. The family and fans present – they weren’t really into girls’ rugby and would support the boys more. Now they come to watch the girls.”
Provo will play Kau Toa tomorrow night in the Cup semifinals. United will play Herriman, which defeated Snow Canyon 30-0 in last weekend’s semifinal play-in. The two victors contest the title on Saturday.
The Trophy division held two semifinal play-in matches last weekend. Brighton defeated West Valley 48-15 and will face United Trophy in Friday night’s semifinal. Kao Toa Trophy bettered Sky Ridge 59-20 and will play Wasatch in the Trophy semifinals tomorrow night.
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