CRC 2017: Recap of Game 1 for U19 Men & Sr. Women

July 18, 2017

Ontario Blues - U19 Men and Sr. Women Game 1 Recap; Photo Credit to Jennifer Fougere

U19 Blues Game 1 vs. Voyageurs

After coming off an intense training camp and facing well rounded pre-tournament competition, the U19 Blues kicked off their 2017 Canadian Rugby Championships tournament with a decisive 36-14 win against Voyageurs Rugby.

The Voyageurs offense came out strong by taking an early 5-0 lead within the first five minutes of the game - putting the ball through the hands of the entire backline before scoring a well-deserved try in the corner.

The Blues got into penalty trouble early on, turning the ball over on multiple occasions and setting the Voyageurs up for several potential offensive opportunities. 8-man, Owain Ruttan was the first Blues player to put points on the board, as he punched one in after the Blues pieced together several phases inside the Voyageurs 22m line. Ontario didn’t let up there. Josh Engelbrecht went for a run on his own, scoring a try to make it a 12-5 game early on.

As the Voyageurs got into some penalty trouble of their own, Ontario capitalized on these opportunities. Ruttan made a pick at the back of the Blues scrum to feed strike runner, James Hammond with a beautiful offload as he ran a beautiful support line, fending and stepping his way into the try zone. The Blues led the Voyageurs 19-11 at halftime.

The Blues scored three tries and one penalty kick to make it a very one sided second half at the Truro Saints Rugby Club. Taking advantage of more penalty trouble, the Blues set up a lineout 10 metres from the Voyageurs goal line wherein Scrumhalf, Engelbrecht was given the ball off the top and he crossed the line untouched. Adding insurance was Blues forward Aidan Foley who finished off what had been multiple phases of pick and go rugby within the Voyageurs 22m line.

The U19 Ontario Blues picked up their first victory at the 2017 Canadian Rugby Championship Tournament as they beat the Quebec Voyageurs by a final score of 36-14. The Blues must be more discipline on defense and look to clean up their play in their next games, but a positive game overall for the Ontario side. The Blues face the Alberta Wolfpack on July 19th at 1:00pm ET.

SCORING

Tries: Owain Ruttan, Josh Engelbrecht x3, James Hammond, Aidan Foley

Conversions: Callum Tam x2, Ethan Hager

Sr. Women Game 1 vs. Nova Scotia Keltics

The Ontario Blues Senior Women’s team opened up their Canadian Rugby Championship campaign with a win in Truro. The Blues took on host side Nova Scotia in game one of the tournament, but won decisively by a score of 57-0.
The Blues were dominant in the scrum and used their speed and strength to their advantage. Many of the tries scored by Ontario were off of an open run, as the players continuously supported each other to create open space in the Keltics zone.
The Blues struck early and often in the match. Colleen Irowa recorded the first try, finishing off on a great McKinley Hunt run. The next two Ontario tries came from Julia Schell, who used her quick footwork to evade multiple Nova Scotia defenders.

Natasha Smith, Daria Keane, Hunt and Tobi Owotomo also crossed the line in the first half to give the Blues a decisive 45-0 at halftime.
The second half was much of the same story for the Blues, as they seemed to dominate in scrums and in possessions. It was not a high scoring affair like the first half was for the Blues, though.
The Keltics held their ground for much of the first part of the half, but the Blues continued to press and Irene Patrinos added five more points for Ontario ten minutes in.

After that, the Keltics seemed to flip a switch and put on offensive pressure in Blues territory. It wasn’t enough though, as they were unable to get the ball across the line and Schell added another try in the second half to complete the hat-trick.
The Blues won Game 1 by a decisive score of 57-0. Ontario will be in tough in their next matchup, as they play the defending champions - Quebec - on Wednesday, July 19 at 5:00pm ET.

SCORING

Tries: Julia Schell x3, Natasha Smith, Mckinley Hunt, Colleen Irowa, Daria Keane, Tobi Owotomo, Irene Patrinos
Conversions: Lauren McEwen x4, Sara Svoboda x2

ABOUT THE ONTARIO BLUES

The Ontario Blues program is the high performance representative program for male and female rugby players in Ontario. Rugby Ontario is represented at the provincial level by the Ontario Blues High Performance program. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens. Specifically, the program is designed to develop and showcase rugby players for Canadian representative national teams.

ABOUT RUGBY ONTARIO

Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to establish a stronger identity for rugby in Ontario by promoting the sport’s core values and by fostering a culture of inclusiveness and excellence on and off the field of play.

To learn more, visit https://www.rugbyontario.com/