Rugby falls to Sheridan in quarter-final matchup

ETOBICOKE – Humber rugby fell to the Sheridan Bruins in the OCAA quarter-final round Saturday at Valley Field, 37-17. The Hawks battled hard but could not overcome the Bruins' powerful offence and sound defensive squad. The Hawks will now look ahead to improving on this year's result in the 2023 season.

Match Recap

With the sun beating down on a beautiful October afternoon at Valley Field, the Humber Hawks rugby team was looking to defeat Sheridan for a second time this year.

Sheridan came out the gates hot, scoring a try within the first two minutes of the match. The Bruins would capitalize on their convert attempt to put them ahead of the Hawks 7-0. The Bruins would then convert a penalty to give their squad a ten-point lead.

The Hawks would come soaring back with a try of their own to chop the Bruins' lead in half. Toronto native, Estian Coetzee, stormed through the Bruins' defence to make his way into the try zone for Humber's first points of the match. He would then make his convert attempt to bring the Hawk to within three. Eight minutes later, Coetzee would score a penalty to even the game at ten leading into halftime.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle that saw both teams shine offensively and play tight defence; however, the Hawks could not bring the same tempo into the match's second half.

After Sheridan put up seven points at the half's 12-minute mark, the Hawks knew they needed to get something going. Humber's Robert Vatri would blow by the Bruins and break two tackles to make his way into the try zone. A successful convert from Daniel Budic would tie up the game again, this time at 17.

The Bruins would put up 20 more points in the final half-hour of play, while the Hawks would fail to score. The 37-17 loss marked the Hawks' last game of the 2022 season as the Sheridan Bruins will advance to the OCAA semifinals.