U19 Blues come short of a comeback in Game 1 of series with EIRA

June 29, 2018

RECAP: U19 Blues come short of a comeback in Game 1 of series with EIRA

(Guelph, ON) - On Thursday June 28^th, The Under-19 Blues took on the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy in the first match of their two-game series at The University of Guelph. In a high scoring affair, Eagle Impact took an early lead on the U19-Blues and won by a final score of 36-22.

The U-19 Blues had a strong start to the game and traded pressure and possession with Eagle Impact Rugby in the first ten minutes of the game. Josh Ho scored first for the U-19 Blues by running a great line whistling past his defenders. That would be the only try for the U-19 Blues in the first half as Eagle Impact led 19-7 at the break.

The Blues started to find their groove in the second half after battling adversity and scoring multiple tries in quick succession by Braden Bruce, Timico Smith and Quenton Mclean Lavado bringing the U-19 Blues within striking distance of tying the game. A late try from Eagle Impact Rugby put the game out of reach and the first match of the series ended in a 36-22 final.

U-19 Blues Try Scorers – Quenton McLean Lavado, Timico Smith, Braden Bruce, Josh Ho

GAME TWO PREVIEW

The second game of the series will be at The University of Guelph on Saturday at 3pm. The U-19 Blues hope to build off their strong second half and bounce back with a win in the next installment of the series.

There are multiple changes in the roster for Game 2. Check them out below.

U-19 BLUES ROSTER - GAME 2 VS. EAGLE IMPACT RUGBY ACADEMY

1. Guerschom Mukendi, Stoney Creek Camels

2. Owen McLean Lavado (Captain), Toronto Scottish

3. Aaron Pacha, Guelph Redcoats

4. Cameron Hurst, Mississauga Blues

5. Tyler Webb, Barrie

6. Mason Flesch, Coburg Saxons

7. Max Goodwin, Aurora Barbarians

8. Braden Bruce, Peterborough Pagans

9. Kevin Oh, Waterloo County

10. Quenton McLean-Lavado, Toronto Scottish

11. Jack Shaw, Crusaders

12. Danny Vasica, Crusaders

13. Gabe Casey, Bytown Blues

14. Isaac Brown, Aurora Barbarians

15. Joshua Ho, Aurora Barbarians

16. Levi Konecny, Ajax Wanderers

17. Alex Circelli, Aurora Barbarians

18. Owen Stirling, Guelph Redcoats

19. Caleb English, Aurora Barbarians

20. Erik Keppen, Ajax Wanderers

21. Toff Patel, Barrhaven Scottish

22. Timco Smith, Mississauga Blues

23. Devan Hunter, Toronto Scottish

24. Ryan Connelly, Barrie

25. Will Cheesewright, Crusaders

26. Carter Smith, Brampton Beavers

27. Malik James, Balmy Beach

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/