Barbarians come up short on Rugby Ontario finals day

November 8, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

A pair of Aurora Barbarians squads took to the field for the annual year-end championships at Fletcher’s Field in Markham, though both left empty handed.
The premier team opened the day against the Oakville Crusaders in the McCormick Cup consolation final, both teams looking to avenge early playoff exits.
It was Aurora who took an early 10 – 0 lead, scoring the only try of the game before halftime.
Oakville stormed back after the break with three straight tries, taking a 26 – 10 lead, putting the Barbs on their heels.
A resilient comeback by the Barbs had them up 27 – 26 late in the game, though the Crusaders got the last laugh with a late penalty conversion to win the consolation title 29 – 27.
The Barbs seconds squad then faced off against the Toronto Scottish in the Gee Gage Cup, the battle of the top teams in the Tier II division.
Toronto held the lead the whole way to win the title by a score of 37 – 17.
The Brantford Harlequins closed out the day with their second McCormick title in as many years, squeaking out a 40 – 27 win over Balmy Beach.