Fealey to take over reins of Aurora Women's Team
Apr 11, 2008

The Aurora Barbarians RFC are pleased to announce the newest member of the Club - Mr. Michael Fealey, who will join the club as the new Head Coach of the Barbs Women's Team who compete in the Ontario Women's League - Ontario's pre-eminent women's competition.

Fealey, who has coached extensively in English county age grade and some women's teams, will look to take the team to the next level. With players such as National Sevens & Fifteens Carded player Nat Bendavid and U19 star Courtney Bloom along with a pair of U17 national team players coming into the mix, Fealey is looking to have a back to basics approach to start.

"I will approach the season much the same I have everywhere else," offered the Englishman. "Try and make the players more skillful and rely on their intelligence ".

"Intelligent players win rugby games," Fealey continues, "they are better decision makers, and they are playing rugby in the right areas ".

"I will try and get them to understand the game better - and then at that point you play better rugby."

Over the last few years the Aurora Women's First XV has maintained a respectable record of wins and losses in the OWL, while growing the club from the U19 level and up. This growth has been important to the club as it has created a competitive playing environment for Canadian International players Nat Bendavid, Martha Goodrow and Courtney Blum, who play for the 1, 2, and 3 National teams respectively.

Graham Brown, Director of the women's program - who during the day is CEO of Rugby Canada, said the decision to bring a coach from overseas was not automatic, noting, "this was something we as a club felt passionately about, and it is not a decision we reached lightly as a Canadian Coach would have been our preference”.

"We are making an investment in the women and Michael to really produce some results in 2008, and it should be exciting to see this plan come together."

Women's First Team Captain Nat Bendavid echoes Brown's sentiments, saying, "I am very excited about Coach Fealey's arrival. I think his enthusiasm, commitment and organization are exactly what our women's teams need. "

"This is a great opportunity to enable the talent we have to reach their highest potential in the OWL. I'm really looking forward to this season!"

Fealey admits there will be some build up needed to achieve the goals he is setting, and says that while wins and losses are obviously important, so is how the team performs each time they take to the pitch.

"We will not win every game but performance is more important," he says. "It is not always about the short term - but a balance of learning new skills and new ways to play, and incorporating that within the existing structure.

"I hope we have a fun and enjoyable season."

The Ontario Women's League kicks off in May.