OSHAWA, Ont. - The Durham Lords men's rugby team capped off their undefeated season with a gold medal win over the Georgian Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon.
After finishing the regular season with a perfect 4-0 record, the Lords received a bye through to the semifinals. Facing the Sheridan Bruins, the Lords earned a convincing 52-8 win to compete for gold for the third time in the the last four seasons.
At Thompson Rugby Park, the Lords would host the Georgian Grizzlies for the first time this season. They met in the regular season in Barrie, Ont., where the Lords won 45-15.
In the gold medal match, Durham were on the board first with a try scored by Mackenzie Rowley (Ajax). Tyler Janes (Pickering) successfully converted on his kick, putting the Lords up 7-0 early.
After an incredible try line stand by the Lords defensively, Georgian ultimately settled for three points to get on the board.
James Stockwood (Bowmanville) put the Lords ahead 14-3, and not long later Josh Dusome (Oshawa) added one more try before the halftime break. Janes successfully kicked his third of the match, making the score 21-3.
In the second half, Dusome scored his second try of the match to put the hosts ahead by 25. Georgian began to chip away at their deficit, scoring its first try of the match late in the afternoon to make it 28-10. Janes made a kick for three points late in the match to go up 31-10.
In the final minutes, Georgian scored their second try of the game but that would put an end to the scoring as the final whistle blew and the Durham Lords celebrated their third championship banner in OCAA men's rugby.
Since officially entering the OCAA in 2018, the Durham College men's rugby program have three gold medals and one bronze to show for it.
Source: Durham Lords
In the OCAA bronze medal match in Kingston, Ont., first-year player Ngatukumbe Kaukumangera (Mississauga) scored two tries while third-year player Nicholas Chomyn (Oakville) was successful on two converts and two penalty kicks as the Sheridan Bruins defeated the St. Lawrence Surge 25-17.
St. Lawrence second-year scrum half Samuel Meindl (Trenton) scored a try and added a convert in a losing effort.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mrug
Live Webcast (Gold Medal only): www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Saturday, October 22
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: No. 5 Sheridan def. No. 4 Humber 37-17
Game #2: No. 3 St. Lawrence def. No. 6 Seneca 58-10
Saturday, October 29
Semi-Final
Game #3: No. 1 Durham def. No. 5 Sheridan 52-8
Sunday, October 30
Semi-Final
Game #4: No. 2 Georgian def. No. 3 St. Lawrence 34-15
Saturday, November 5
Bronze Medal Match
Game #5: No. 5 Sheridan def. No. 3 St. Lawrence 25-17
Gold Medal Match
Game #6: No. 1 Durham def. No. 2 Georgian 31-17
- OCAA -
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