McCormick Cup Preview
September 20th, 2019
(WHITBY, ON) - After 14 weeks of competition, the McCormick Cup draw and schedule is set! The Cup is the title championship for the top Senior Men’s First Teams. The 2019 McCormick Cup competition features 7 clubs, divided into two pools. Teams will play each team in their pool, with the top two teams in each pool playing will play for the McCormick Cup on Saturday, October 19th at Fletcher’s Fields.
To view the full McCormick Cup draw and the full tournament schedule, click here. Continue reading below for a preview for both pools.
POOL A: Markham Irish, Waterloo County, Burlington Centaurs
Pool A is headlined by the defending McCormick Cup Champions, the Markham Irish. Last year, the club won their first provincial championships since 2013, defeating the then two-time defending champion Brantford Harlequins 24-20.
In the 2019 Marshall season, the Irish picked up where they left off. The Champs recorded a record of 10-2-0, earning 60 points along the way. The Irish secured top spot in the East Division with a 29-6 win over the Toronto Scottish in Round 14 of the regular season. The win put them two points clear of the Scottish, securing top spot in the East Division.
Joining the defending champions in Pool A are two clubs from the West Division. Waterloo County and the Burlington Centaurs finished 2nd and 3rd in the West division, both going 10-4-0 during the regular season. Waterloo edged out Burlington by a single bonus point, finishing with 51 points to Burlington’s 50. The two clubs met twice during the 2019 regular season, with Waterloo winning both matches.
The Centaurs will look to recreate their McCormick Cup magic from a year ago. Last season, The Centaurs defeated the 1st place Toronto Scottish to earn a place in the Cup Semi-Final. Their Cup run came to end at the hands of their Pool A opponents, the Markham Irish, who defeated Burlington 57-20.
As for Waterloo County, their 2018 McCormick Cup dream came to an end after losing to the Stoney Creek Camels 39-29 in the first round of competition. They will look to bounce back and bring the McCormick Cup to Waterloo for the first time.
ROUND 1 SCHEDULE
Saturday, September 21st, 2019
Burlington Centaurs (H) v. Markham Irish (A)
* Waterloo County RFC: BYE
To view the full schedule click here
POOL B: Brantford Harlequins, Toronto Scottish, Peterborough Pagans, Balmy Beach
Pool B features a group of clubs eager to reclaim the McCormick Cup. Within the pool, the four clubs have combined to win 21 Senior Men’s Provincial Championships. The top seed in the pool belongs to the 2016 & 2017 McCormick Cup Champions, the Brantford Harlequins. The Quins posted a record of 10-2-0, earning 61 competition points, the most in the entire Marshall League. Brantford will aim to win their 3rd Provincial title in four years.
The Toronto Scottish sat in top spot of the East Division until the last round of regular season play. The Scottish went 11-2-1, recording 58 points. The club finished with a point differential of +429, 123 more than the next closest club. The Scottish will be on a mission to improve on their 2018 McCormick Cup run, which ended in the Quarter-Finals at the hands of the Burlington Centaurs.
Right behind the Scottish in the East Division standings was the Peterborough Pagans. The Pagans finished with 50 points after going 10-4-0 during the regular season. The Scottish and the Pagans split their regular season matchups 1-1. It was a great bounce back year for the clubs 1st grade side. In 2018, the team went 2-8-0 in the Marshall Premiership East. Peterborough will look to continue their magical season and bring the club its first Senior Men’s Provincial Title.
The fourth and final member of Pool B is Balmy Beach. The Beach finished with a record of 8-6-0 during the regular season, putting up 48 points. Balmy Beach lead the entire Marshall League with 16 bonus points, three more than any other club. In 2018, the Beach fell to the Brantford Harlequins in the McCormick Cup Semi-Final 44-14. The club bounced back, defeating the Burlington Centaurs the following weekend to good enough for 3rd place in 2018 McCormick Cup. The Beach will be eager to add to their trophy case and bring the club its 16th Senior Men’s Provincial Championship.
Round 1 Schedule
Saturday, September 21st, 2019
Brantford Harlequins (H) v Peterborough Pagans (A)
Toronto Scottish (H) v Balmy Beach RFC (A)
To view the full schedule click here
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/
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Dalton Finkbeiner
Communications and Marketing Coordinator - Rugby Ontario
647-560-4790 x 1006
dfinkbeiner@rugbyontario.com
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