
Men's and Women's Jr. Blues Sevens teams crowned National Champs
(MARCH 11, 2018 | VANCOUVER, BC) – On Saturday, in front of a sold-out Canada Sevens crowd at BC Place, two Ontario Junior Blues sevens teams took the pitch to play for National titles. The Jr. Blues Women’s Blue team defeated Alberta 22-21 to claim the U18 7s Women’s National Championship, while the Jr. Blues Men’s Blue team defeated host side British Columbia 29-10 in their final.
The U18 Women’s Blue team was ready for a grudge match with an Alberta side which had already gotten the upper hand on them in round robin play. Kendra Cousineau opened the scoring for the Blues at BC Place, but Alberta stormed back to take a 14-7 lead. Ontario wouldn’t go away quietly, as they continued their attack by adding two tries to regain the lead. Alberta would pull ahead once more in the second half, but a late Blues try pushed them over the edge to win the game 22-21. Try scorers in the game were Sam Cyrille (x2), Cousineau and Brooklynn Feasby.
The U18 Women's team improves upon a second place finish in 2017. The team had seven returning players from last year's roster.
The U18 Men’s Blue team also knew they were in for a tough contest, as they matched up against British Columbia. Arguably their biggest rivals in the tournament, Ontario would have to win against a hot team which beat them in round robin play. EJ Rerri was a difference maker for Ontario in the match. His lethal speed and evasiveness resulted in three tries for the Oakville native. Braden Bruce also added a try and the Blues defeated British Columbia 29-10.
The Blues were officially crowned back-to-back champions with the win. They had
Ontario had two other teams in the tournament. Ontario U18 Men’s White team and Ontario U18 Women’s White team both finished in fourth place.
Congratulations to all of the athletes on a great tournament!
For scores, statistics and standings, you can visit the following tournament pages:
Men’s - https://www.canadianrugbychampionship.com/leagues/front_pageRCEvents.cfm?clientID=2581&leagueID=27735
Women’s - https://www.canadianrugbychampionship.com/leagues/front_pageRCEvents.cfm?clientID=2581&leagueID=27737
You can also find up-to-date information about the teams by following Rugby Ontario on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
For more information on the U18 sevens teams, go to https://www.rugbyontario.com/u18-womens-sevens/ or https://www.rugbyontario.com/u18-mens-sevens/.
National U18 7s Rugby Championship Rosters
National U18 7s Rugby Championship Rosters (Men's)
Ontario Jr. Blues Men – Blue | Ontario Jr. Blues Men - White | ||
Isaiah Andrews | Kingston Panthers | Liam Bowman | Crusaders |
Erick Baptiste | Ottawa Irish | Ben Burnside | Cobourg Saxons |
Braden Bruce | Peterborough Pagans | William Daniel | Toronto Nomads |
Jon Darrell* | Brantford Harlequins | Dylan DiGirolamo | Aurora Barbarians |
Matthew Hollett | Aurora Barbarians | Cole Ferraro | Oshawa Vikings |
Jackson Kerr | Toronto Saracens | Campbell Hunter | Toronto Saracens |
Alex Kropman | Ajax Wanderers | Cody Nhanala | Ottawa Indians |
Liam McLaughlin | Ajax Wanderers | Duncan Phillips | Ottawa Indians |
EJ Rerri* | Crusaders | Armand Pienaar | Oshawa Vikings |
Jack Shaw | Crusaders | William Pilat-Cumberbatch | Toronto Bucaneers |
Lucas Vanderburg | Aurora Barbarians | Nash Ramsay | Stoney Creek Camels |
Carson Young* | Oshawa Vikings | Sam Shearer | Aurora Barbarians |
Coaching Staff
Nigel D'Acre - Head Coach, Ontario Blue
Paul Myers - Head Coach, Ontario White
Khalil Ajram - Manager
Malik Carby-Crobett - Athletic Therapist
National U18 7s Rugby Championship Rosters (Women's)
Ontario Jr. Blues Women – Blue | Ontario Jr. Blues Women – White | ||
Taylor Black* | Crusaders | Abbey Anderson | Norfolk Harvesters |
Kendra Cousineau* | Niagara Wasps | Natalie Armatage | Waterloo County |
Samantha Cyrille* | Unattached | Sarah Bothen | Stoney Creek Camels |
Linnea Dalvi | Barrhaven Scottish | Payton Brown | Brantford Harlequins |
Olivia De Couvreur* | Ottawa Irish | Katya Dondi | Brampton Beavers |
Brooklynn Feasby* | Oshawa Vikings | Charlotte Finlay* | Bruce County |
Kennedy Feasby | Oshawa Vikings | Maddie Hobson | Brantford Harlequins |
Katie McLeod | Aurora Barbarians | Maddy Kushner | Ottawa Irish |
Bridget Peros* | Crusaders | Brianna Martey | Ottawa Irish |
Sydney Seymour | Cornwall Claymores | Chihinga Roest | Norfolk Harvesters |
Lily Stewart | Peterborough Pagans | Zoe Spronk | Kingston Panthers |
Emma Wade* | Crusaders | Abigail Wade | Crusaders |
Coaching Staff
Ian Fitzgerald - Head Coach
Sean Dunleavy - Assistant Coach
Sonny Raina - Assistant Coach
Vicki Woodhead - Manager
Perry Fan - Athletic Therapist
*Denotes returning player
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. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens and Under-18 Men's and Women's Sevens. 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/
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Kevin Baxter
Communications Coordinator - Rugby Ontario