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The Whitehorse Gold Diggers are looking towards their sophomore season, with their first tournament of the season slated for mid June.

The team, which was formed last year, has been practising weekly ahead of Anchorage鈥檚 Midnight Sun Sevens tournament.

With some new, young talent on their roster, the team is looking to do big things in Anchorage.

Matthew Braga, 17, is one such player and is looking forward to being competitive at the tournament.

鈥淚 definitely don鈥檛 go there with the intentions of losing,鈥� he said during a practice last week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a fun tournament. I鈥檇 really like to see us win it.鈥�

Braga started playing rugby at Saskatchewan鈥檚 Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, known for its hockey program, to fill in the gap between hockey seasons.

When he moved back to Whitehorse, he started playing with the team six months ago. He joins a roster of players with a lifetime of experience on the Gold Diggers.

鈥淧laying here with these guys, a lot of them have been playing rugby longer than I鈥檝e been alive,鈥� said Braga. 鈥淵ou always look for opportunities to ask questions. Anybody out here, they鈥檙e all great guys and they鈥檒l teach you anything you want to know.鈥�

Rugby in the Yukon actually dates back to the 1990s, but as the new millennium approached, the Wolverines club dissolved.

It was resurrected in 2011 through games of pick-up touch rugby in the park, said Mike Fancie. Those eventually grew into more organized sessions and they fielded a contact team to play at the Midnight Sun Sevens tournament last year.

鈥淭hat was the first time that we sent a team to compete in 15 years,鈥� said Fancie. 鈥淚t was a really exciting point for us just to be able to send a team to play competitively.鈥�

They鈥檝e ridden that momentum through the year, partnering with a few organizations to encourage the sport鈥檚 development in the Yukon.

Last fall Canadian Rugby World Cup player, Hubert Buydens hosted a round of clinics in Whitehorse.

The club has also had some success with a program called 鈥淩ookie Rugby,鈥� which took place in schools last year to introduce students to the sport.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing thing to watch,鈥� said Fancie. 鈥淵ou literally have a coach stand in a room with a gaggle of kids and they split them into two groups and they say, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 the ball, you can do whatever you want with it, it just has to end up on the other side of the room,鈥欌��

The coach continues to introduce more rules, saying you can only pass backwards and that you can stop someone by touching them with two hands.

鈥淲ithin half and hour, you鈥檝e taught someone functionally how to play rugby without ever having to explain what the rules are,鈥� said Fancie.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just giving someone the opportunity to play and by the act of playing, people are learning how the game works and that鈥檚 what makes it so much fun.鈥�

Fancie calls rugby a lifelong sport. He says that once people start playing it they don鈥檛 really want to stop.

He started playing when he was 11-years-old and living in England.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the one thing that鈥檚 been constant throughout my life. I changed jobs, I changed cities, I鈥坈hanged girlfriends, but I鈥檝e always had rugby and that means a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥� I love the complexity. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anyone on earth who can say they understand the rules 100 per cent.鈥�

What makes rugby different from sports like soccer or hockey, he says, is that you don鈥檛 focus so much on plays or drills.

鈥淗ere you practise skills. You practise being able to think on your feet.鈥� he said. 鈥淭he sky鈥檚 the limit when you鈥檙e on the field and no two games are the same.鈥�

There鈥檚 also the camaraderie.

鈥淓verybody seems to have kind of a bond that just seems a little stronger than in other sports,鈥� said Braga.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 got each other鈥檚 back.鈥�

This team has been working on their skills and thinking on their feet, running drills that make players think fast and play smart.

Braga says that in the six months he鈥檚 been training with the team, they鈥檝e come a long way.

鈥淲hen I started in January, we couldn鈥檛 pass this well and we could鈥檛 work together that well and read each other,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow everything is starting to flow.鈥�

That鈥檚 going to work to their advantage later in the tournament.

鈥淲hen everyone is tired and they have their bumps and bruises, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 going to help us the most,鈥� said Braga.

鈥淓verybody knows everybody pretty well out here so it鈥檒l be good. We鈥檝e got some chemistry going.鈥�

The mix of players with young and old talent on the team means they will be versatile on the field.

鈥淲e can play any game. If a team wants to hit us hard, we can hit just as hard,鈥� said Braga. 鈥淚f a team wants to try to beat us fast, that鈥檚 going to be hard to do.鈥�