Teen rugby player killed in crash was 'absolutely fearless'
Eastern Ontario's youth rugby community is remembering a Kingston, Ont., teen who died last week as a fearless player who had his heart set on bigger things.
Scottie Legg, 16, was killed Wednesday night in a two-vehicle crash on Bayridge Drive in the city's west end that injured eight others.
Legg was an up-and-coming rugby player who never backed down on the pitch and never shied away from a tackle, said Brad Greenwood, his coach with the Kingston Panthers.
Off the field, Greenwood said, he was an avid student of the sport.
"He was a bit of a sponge. He wanted to learn more and more and more about the game ... he had big aspirations to move on and to take his game to the highest level he could," he said.
"[He was] absolutely fearless. A great tackler. A trustworthy player. And I think that's what endeared him to his teammates on the field."
'A catastrophic event'
Kingston police have said speed was a factor in the fatal crash. They've been asking anyone who saw the two vehicles involved — a red car and a dark-coloured SUV — to come forward.
Legg, a Grade 11 student Frontenac Secondary School, had most recently been training and playing with the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union (EORU). He was part of the rugby sevens team, Greenwood said, that won last fall's provincial championships.
When EORU coaches first saw him on the pitch, they knew he had talent, said LeeEllen Carroll, manager of the union's junior representative program.
"The characteristics he displayed both on and off the field really led everybody to no other option but to invite him on tours and tournaments," Carroll said.
"It's a catastrophic event, and I think the ripple effects are being felt wide and far [in the rugby community]."
Greenwood, who last saw Legg while he was training Tuesday night — matches went on hiatus this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic — said there would likely be a memorial at some point.
As for his fellow players, Greenwood said there are "a lot of heavy hearts."
"They've lost a really good teammate, and we've lost a good, good rugby player here in Kingston. You know, rugby's such a small community that any time that happens, that it's really difficult," he said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. I can't imagine what they're going through. And we're going to really miss him."
