Sportsmanship Recognition – Brodie Schmidt (Oshawa Vikings RFC)

August 24, 2016

Yesterday, I was walking up and down the sideline at Fletcher’s, as I’ve done for the past fifteen or so years. The match up was the Toronto U-18 Girls Semi-Finals between rivals Oshawa Vikings and the Aurora Barbarians. It was about 15 minutes in and the score was Aurora 7- Oshawa 5.

A ruck  5 metre out from the Oshawa try line and the Aurora flanker picks and go and crashes over the try line. The referee got caught on the wrong side of the ruck and missed the grounding and says held up. What happened next was a complete surprise and reminds me why rugby is truly one of the best sports!

Just before the start of the scrum the Vikings Captain, who I learned after the match was Brodie Schmidt says to the referee, “Referee sir, she did score the try.” Everyone was in shock for this to happened. It was a tight match up at this point and for the captain of the opposition to say that to referee was a class act and one of the best sportsmanship moves I’ve ever seen in Rugby.

I’m writing this letter because Brodie Schmidt deserves to be recognized for her courage and sportsmanship.In the heat of the moment, she remember the core values of the game we love: Integrity-Passion- Solidarity- Discipline and Respect.

Best of luck to Oshawa in the Toronto Rugby Finals this Friday vs Oakville.

Yours in Rugby,

Khalil Ajram

Technical Director- Toronto Rugby