November 7, 2005
MCMASTER REGAINS GOLD IN OUA FINAL
MARKHAM - After an unseasonable warm and sunny McCormick Cup final, the capricious November weather returned to Fletcher’s Fields just in time for the Ontario University Athletics men’s rugby finals.
For the first time ever, the OUA partnered with Rugby Ontario and Rugby Canada to bring the bronze and gold medal games to a neutral venue. Despite the poor weather, a sizeable crowd of 900 turned up to see the games.
In the third-place opener, the Golden Gaels of Queen’s University from Kingston, Ontario lost to the Brock University Badgers, from St. Catharine’s by a score of 23 – 13.
Brock fullback Jarod Selby of Lindsay and Canada U21 accounted for 13 points from his boot with three penalties and two conversions. The two Brock tries were scored by Mark Shisler: the 23-year-old business student from Brantford started at flanker for this match.
The gold medal game was a re-match of last year as Hamilton’s McMaster University’s Marauders faced the Mustangs from London’s University of Western Ontario.
Western opened the scoring in the first half with a try from outside centre Jonathon Church but the Barrie native’s five points were soon matched by opposing centre Steve Shortly. Both the Mustangs’ Sam Jenkins and the Marauders’ Spencer Fullerton kept up with boot: both landed their conversions and added a penalty each to make it 10 – 10 at half-time.
The boot of Western's Sam Jenkins nudged his side into the lead in the second half, putting paid to thoughts that the wet conditions would nullify shots at goal. 13-10 to Western.
Alexander Sithole, a late substitute into the Marauders squad, made an immediate impact as a spilled ball from Western quickly changed hands, with Daniel West putting Sithole away in the right corner, sliding across the slick pitch, taking his side into a lead they would not relenquish at 15-13 with the winning score. Despite Western’s best efforts, the game would end that way. McMaster scrum-half Rob Ashwood was named Man-of-the-Match.
"They gave us a fright in the first half, and their backs impressed us out wide, but we regrouped - and started playing our game and it all came together," said Dan Pletch, one half of the Pletch front row combo on the McMaster squad, along with brother Mike.
With the deluge of rain that began in the waning moments of the first half, the McMaster squad changed tactics as far as ball handling was concerned.
"We made a conscious decision to make shorter passes and use our bigger guys. We made less ground but we maintained control of the ball and got it to ground slower," said Marauders coach Phil White.
For his excellent service and stead hand senior McMaster scrum-half Rob Ashwood was named Man-of-the-Match.
The win gives McMaster their thirdTurner Trophy in four years: Western won the final in 2004. In fact, the only university besides Western, Queen’s and McMaster to have won the Turner Cup in the past 20 years was Guelph in 1997.
(With files from Rugby Canada and Canadian Rugby News)
For the first time ever, the OUA partnered with Rugby Ontario and Rugby Canada to bring the bronze and gold medal games to a neutral venue. Despite the poor weather, a sizeable crowd of 900 turned up to see the games.
In the third-place opener, the Golden Gaels of Queen’s University from Kingston, Ontario lost to the Brock University Badgers, from St. Catharine’s by a score of 23 – 13.
Brock fullback Jarod Selby of Lindsay and Canada U21 accounted for 13 points from his boot with three penalties and two conversions. The two Brock tries were scored by Mark Shisler: the 23-year-old business student from Brantford started at flanker for this match.
The gold medal game was a re-match of last year as Hamilton’s McMaster University’s Marauders faced the Mustangs from London’s University of Western Ontario.
Western opened the scoring in the first half with a try from outside centre Jonathon Church but the Barrie native’s five points were soon matched by opposing centre Steve Shortly. Both the Mustangs’ Sam Jenkins and the Marauders’ Spencer Fullerton kept up with boot: both landed their conversions and added a penalty each to make it 10 – 10 at half-time.
The boot of Western's Sam Jenkins nudged his side into the lead in the second half, putting paid to thoughts that the wet conditions would nullify shots at goal. 13-10 to Western.
Alexander Sithole, a late substitute into the Marauders squad, made an immediate impact as a spilled ball from Western quickly changed hands, with Daniel West putting Sithole away in the right corner, sliding across the slick pitch, taking his side into a lead they would not relenquish at 15-13 with the winning score. Despite Western’s best efforts, the game would end that way. McMaster scrum-half Rob Ashwood was named Man-of-the-Match.
"They gave us a fright in the first half, and their backs impressed us out wide, but we regrouped - and started playing our game and it all came together," said Dan Pletch, one half of the Pletch front row combo on the McMaster squad, along with brother Mike.
With the deluge of rain that began in the waning moments of the first half, the McMaster squad changed tactics as far as ball handling was concerned.
"We made a conscious decision to make shorter passes and use our bigger guys. We made less ground but we maintained control of the ball and got it to ground slower," said Marauders coach Phil White.
For his excellent service and stead hand senior McMaster scrum-half Rob Ashwood was named Man-of-the-Match.
The win gives McMaster their thirdTurner Trophy in four years: Western won the final in 2004. In fact, the only university besides Western, Queen’s and McMaster to have won the Turner Cup in the past 20 years was Guelph in 1997.
(With files from Rugby Canada and Canadian Rugby News)
