Riders return to practice after flu bug hits team in Banjo Bowl

The Saskatchewan Roughriders took to the practice field Tuesday for the first time since dealing with a team illness before and during Saturday’s game against Winnipeg.

“It wasn’t food poisoning, it was a virus of some sort and they think it was one of those bad ones,” said head coach, Craig Dickenson.

“I know every single one of us O-lineman was on an IV before game time,” said Kooper Richardson.

Richardson played in his first Canadian Football League (CFL) game versus the Bombers and said it was nothing like he has ever seen before on a football team.

“Everything from getting an IV 40 minutes before the game, to the worst feeling I ever had. Unfortunately for me, I got it on game day so I was in the middle of my sickness when the game was going on and what a crazy way to get your first start,” said Richardson.

The game was a runaway for the Bombers who took the lead early on and never let up. The Riders would fail to get within any more than six points of the blue and gold and would head into the half trailing by 17.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts sent to your device

However, a kickoff return for a touchdown to start the third quarter by Mario Alford was a positive takeaway for the Riders - and for Alford, it was one of the only distractions from the illness.

“During that play I was fine, but it more-so hit me when I wasn’t moving around. After the game, I felt terrible,” he said.

The Riders have dealt with an illness affecting a good portion of their roster after the team had a COVID-19 outbreak back in July. Between injuries and suspensions, the Riders have dealt with their fair share of adversity in the 2022 season.

“Even though it hasn’t gone our way in a lot of ways this season, it’s still been an enjoyable year and it’s still been fun working with them and they come to work every day and work hard,” said Dickenson.

Despite the 54-20 loss to the Bombers and the Riders now below .500 on the season, Dickenson still wanted to start the week on a high note.

“The message I had for the team today (Tuesday) was honestly that I was as proud (of them) as I’ve been of a team in a long time. They gutted it out and win, lose, or draw, not one of them stopped playing hard.”

There was some positive excitement Tuesday as Riders’ quarterback, Cody Fajardo was seen leaving practice to cheers from his teammates.

It was expected that Fajardo received the news his first child was on the way. His wife, Laura’s, due date for their son was Monday. Dickenson still expects Fajardo will be back in time to start on Friday versus the Edmonton Elks.