Barbarians womens’ team fares better than men in away games

June 19, 2013 · 0 Comments

(The Aurora Barbarians Rugby Minor teams hosted Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12 year old tournaments at Fletchers Fields in Markham last weekend. There were 58 teams that played in the three age groups. This is the start of a long season for these age groups which ends in September. Auroran photo by Jeff Doner)

By Jeff Doner

Men’s Barbs

The Aurora Barbarians Rugby Club senior men’s team hosted the Oakville Crusaders at Fletchers Fields in Premiership play for three games last Saturday. The Crusaders are the reigning McCormick Cup champions having won the battle for supremacy in Ontario men’s rugby last October over London’s St. George.

The Barbarians came into the weekend undermanned from player unavailability and injuries suffered in the previous week’s games and the effects showed in the third team match with reserve players inserted as starters and out of their normal positions. The result was a lopsided win by Crusaders 67 -10 over the local side. Scoring for the Barbarians was Derek Haines and Markus Steiner each with single tries.

The second team match was a well contested battle with lots of scoring and several lead changes. The game featured last minute heroics on both sides with the Crusaders eventually prevailing 39-34 – one try separating the teams. Scoring for the Aurora side was team captain James Coombes, Jason Ghuladi, Jordan Querino and Derek Haines each with single tries. Kicker Mark Denton added a try of his own as well as three conversions and a penalty kick.

The first team encounter was evenly matched at the outset. Despite an 0-3 start to their 2013 campaign the Crusaders kept pace with the Barbarians.

Aurora gained momentum midway through the first half and rolled up a 17-3 half time lead. Their success continued into the second half with an early score to make it 22-3 and seemingly out of reach. But two turnovers and a coverage miscue saw the Oakville team claw back to take a 24-22 lead with 15 minutes to play. Then it was the Crusaders turn to misfire and mistakes in their back line allowed the Barbs to score three more tries to take away a 42-24 win. Scoring for the Barbarians was Ciaran McSwiggan with two tries and singles going to Jesse Hayman, David Nielsen, Michael Neely and Sean Sinel. Kicker Josh Ferreira added a penalty kick and four conversions.

After the match head coach Ian McLeod said “It was exciting for the fans but clearly not the game plan we had in mind. Our collapse in the second half shows that that we must play hard for the entire 80 minutes of the game. We straightened things out in the final fifteen minutes and deserved the win.”

Men’s rugby takes a break next week to enjoy the International match between Canada and Ireland at BMO Field in Toronto on Saturday June 15 at 8PM. The Barbarians men’s team play next on June 22, when they visit Balmy Beach for three games.

Women’s Barbs

The Aurora Barbarians senior women’s rugby team was also in action last weekend, visiting the Oakville Crusaders as part of Ontario Women’s Rugby season play on Saturday.

The Barbs second team fought to a well deserved 55 – 12 win, with nine tries and five converts. The Crusaders connected for two tried and one convert.
Caitlin Beaton and Nathalie Bendavid, both with national rugby experience, helped the second team to stay strong and beat out a very physical Crusader squad that helped draw a yellow card to the Barbarians.

The first team won their match, also scoring nine tries and added two converts in their 49 – 12 stomping of the Crusaders.

The Crusaders scored two tries and one convert.

“The Crusaders are a team that came up from the lower division this year, so we had to focus and play our game,” said player and team director, Gill Hall. “They put up a good fight, but our experience carried us through in the end.”

Meg Lowry, Jacey Murphy and Gill Hall scored two tries a piece in the game. Tyson Bukeboom added many solid offensive and defensive efforts to help the Barbs keep their forward momentum..