Update on Marshall and OWL Leagues

July 04, 2018

Still a lot to be decided as Marshall and OWL Leagues enter the last month of regular season

Photo Credits to Guelph Sports Journal/John Guilfoyle

It has been an amazing start to the Marshall and Ontario Women’s League (OWL) season and this is just the beginning of what will be a spectacular finish to a great year of provincial league action. As the final month of either league begins, we look at some of the storylines surrounding the competitions.

The Ontario Women's League has got off to a blistering start to the season. Teams are looking to finish strong and secure their spot in the OWL Cup playoff, which begins in August.

The Guelph Redcoats and Toronto Saracens are looking like the premier teams of the league, both showing off undefeated records – 5-0 for the Redcoats and 6-0 for the Saracens. The two top teams are having their matchup of the undefeated on July 11 at Sunnybrook Park to determine who is the best team in the OWL. The Aurora Barbarians and Niagara Wasps have kept a steady pace in the top flight of their conference with similar records. The Barbarians have an impressive 4-1 record, while the Wasps are at 4-1-1. The Toronto Nomads, Waterloo County, Toronto Scottish and Markham Irish fill the bottom of both tables but are looking to finish strong in the second half of the season.

For more details on the Ontario Women’s League including schedules, scores and league structure, go to https://goo.gl/2jwsRP

In the Marshall Premiership, the Brantford Harlequins and the Toronto Scottish have been the teams leading the way in the first half of this season. Brantford holds an undefeated record and are looking in top form to be contenders once again for the McCormick Cup the rest of the way. The Scottish have also been a leading force in the beginning half of the season. They boast a 6-1 record with their only defeat coming at the hands of Brantford in a well played match which ended in a 29-14 final. Lindsay RFC and Markham Irish lead the middle of the pack as Balmy Beach, Peterborough, Crusaders and Stoney Creek round out the bottom of both groups. The Ontario League playoffs begin in August and they look to make things interesting in the final stretch of the season. The brand-new seeding system allows the top four teams to fight in a playoff for the number one McCormick Cup seed.

As far as the Marshall Championship goes, it has been a spirited start to the season. The Burlington Centaurs have surprised everyone after being promoted from the Niagara Rugby Union. They didn’t waste any time making their mark on the Marshall Championship Division and they have shown no sign of looking back now. The Ajax Wanderers are tops in the east division with a 4-2 record and the Oshawa Vikings are battling for position not too far behind. Waterloo County and London St. George have identical records of 4-2 in the West Division and are battling for position near the top of the table. Aurora, Barrie RFC and the Toronto Nomads look to have a better second half of the season and finish on a positive note leading into the Ontario League playoffs.

For more details on the Marshall Premiership and Championship League including schedules, scores and league structure, go to https://goo.gl/iFXa3g

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. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens and Under-18 Men's and Women's Sevens. 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/