U19 Blues: Blues meet strong NZ touring side; come out with draw

July 10, 2017

U19 Blues meet strong New Zealand touring side in St. Peter's College; Photo Credit to Colin Watson

(BURLINGTON, ON) - The U19 Blues were back in action this weekend in Burlington, Ontario. The Blues - along with the Burlington Centaurs - hosted St. Peter's College from Gore, New Zealand for a match on Sunday. Though Ontario came out to an early 10-0 lead, the game ended in a 20-20 draw.

The U19 Blues were up as much as 15-3 in the first half, but the New Zealand side did not lay down in the last half. Taking advantage of having the winds at their back, St. Peter's College recorded two quick tries and a penalty goal, putting them up 20-15. Ontario would add one more try to tie the game at 20.

The match helped the U19 squad in preparation for the 2017 Canadian Rugby Championships (CRC) in Truro, Nova Scotia. CRC competition begins July 17-22. Last year, the U19 team won silver at the tournament at Fletcher's Fields in Markham.

St. Peter's College - a Catholic school based out of Gore, New Zealand - has a long tradition of sporting achievement that reflects the ever-increasing range of sporting opportunities offered to students. Even though St Peter’s College is not a big school, it regularly produces nationally ranked sports teams and individual athletes.

U19 Blues Roster - Name (School/Club)

Nick Martino (St. Joan of Arc SS / Barrie RFC)

Jack McRodgers (McMaster University / Aurora Barbarians RFC)

Emerson Prior (Trent University / Kingston Panthers RFC)

Connor Labbett (Bishops University / Toronto Saracens RFC

Alton Howard (Fanshawe College / London St. Georges RFC

Jeremy Gamm (Wilfrid Laurier University / Markham Irish RFC)

Aidan Foley (Western University / Crusaders RFC)

Adam Beaupre (KCVI / Waterloo County RFC)

Reece Honey (Fleming College / Peterborough Pagans RFC)

Owain Ruttan (University of British Columbia / Cobourg Saxons RFC)

Callum Tam (Oakville Trafalgar HS / Crusaders RFC)

Henry Stevenson (Royal St. George's College / Toronto Nomads RFC)

Evan Whiteford (LCVI / Lindsay Griffins RFC)

Michael Nwabufo (McGill University / Bytown Blues RFC)

Andrew Wilson (Erindale SS / Crusaders RFC)

Josh Engelbrecht (Oakville Trafalgar HS / Crusaders RFC)

Carter Bondy (Eden HS / Niagara Wasps RFC)

Puwayi Chinoda (University of Manitoba / Oshawa Vikings RFC)

Kevin Perera (McMaster University / Crusaders RFC)

Josh Andrews (Regiopolis Notre Dame / Kingston Panthers RFC)

Miguel-Fabian Palij (Pierre Elliott Trudeau SS / Markham Irish RFC)

Ethan Hager (Brantford Harlequins RFC)

Gabe Casey (Napean HS / Bytown Blues RFC)

James Hammond (Toronto Nomads RFC)

Non-travelling reserves

Graeme Francolini (University of Guelph / Burlington Centaurs RFC)

Talen de St. Croix (BCI / Brantford Harlequins RFC)

Staff

Mike Curran - Head Coach

Sean McDonaugh - Assistant Coach

Jim Delaney - Assistant Coach

Nick Manz - Manager

Blake Barry - Athletic Therapist

ABOUT THE ONTARIO BLUES

The Ontario Blues program is the high performance representative program for male and female rugby players in Ontario. Rugby Ontario is represented at the provincial level by the Ontario Blues High Performance program. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens. Specifically, the program is designed to develop and showcase rugby players for Canadian representative national teams.

ABOUT RUGBY ONTARIO

Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to establish a stronger identity for rugby in Ontario by promoting the sport’s core values and by fostering a culture of inclusiveness and excellence on and off the field of play.

To learn more, visit https://www.rugbyontario.com/