Jr. Blues Enjoy Strong Showing At Western Canadian 7s
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19th, 2020
(WHITBY, ON) - The Ontario Jr. Blues 7s Program had a strong showing this past weekend at Western Canadian 7s. Both U18 Boys & Girls programs were on display with the boys earning a silver medal and the girls finishing in 4th place. The tournament featured the top U18 Boys and Girls squads from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Rugby Canada also sent their U18 Girls Development team to compete in the event.
“The players and staff got to experience a new first for our program” said Khalil Ajram, Rugby Ontario 7s Program Lead. “This was our very first trip to Western Canadians and the players and staff represented Ontario extremely well.”
The U18 Boys went undefeated through their first four matches of the tournament, defeating three B.C. sides and Saskatchewan. The Jr. Blues faced off against Saskatchewan in the Cup Final, with Saskatchewan coming out on top in the rematch. Congratulations to a strong Saskatchewan team on a well fought win in the final.
“This tournament presented a great opportunity for our developing athletes to compete in a high-level competition” said Sean Medeiros, Rugby Ontario’s High-Performance Coordinator. “For many of our boys, this was their first experience competing against provincial sides from Western Canada, an exciting challenge they embraced. In this environment our players were able to showcase their abilities amongst some of the top age grade players from across the country.”
The girls went 2-1 during pool play, grabbing victories over Manitoba and Alberta Black. Their record earned them a spot in the semi-final round, where they were defeated by a strong B.C. side. In the bronze medal match, the Jr. Blues played Alberta Black. The match came down to the wire, with Alberta Black pulling out a last second victory. In the Gold Medal match, B.C. defeated the Rugby Canada development side. Congratulations to BC on their championship win.
“The opportunity to compete against the top players from western Canada was a challenge our girls met head on” said Sean Medeiros. With all five games presenting a different challenge for our players to adapt too, they were able to grow individually and as a team throughout the two-day competition. As with the boys, the girls were able to stand toe to toe with other elite players from across Canada and highlight their skills. “
Congratulations to both teams on a fantastic tournament. Thank you to Paul Myers (Boys HC) and Jeremy Cairnie (Girls HC) for all their hard work leading up to and during the event. Thank you also to Sportside trainer Sasha Kulesh for tending to the athletes.
Rugby Ontario would like to thank all the parents & families that travelled to support our teams in Edmonton. Special thanks to Jim Logan and Richard Topping who filmed and shot multiple games so the players had video to review.
Next up, The Jr. Blues will send three teams to the Vancouver 7s Invitational, which takes placed from March 4th – 7th.
All matches were streamed on the Rugby Alberta Facebook page. To watch the tournament matches, click here.
To view photos from the Western Canadian 7s, click here.
RESULTS
U18 Girls
Ontario: 7 Rugby Canada Academy: 33
Ontario: 55 Manitoba: 0
Ontario: 19 Alberta White: 14
Ontario: 0 B.C: 33 (semi-final)
Ontario: 12 Alberta White: 17 (bronze medal match)
U18 Boys
Ontario: 35 BC Valley: 7
Ontario: 22 BC Interior: 10
Ontario: 19 BC Mainland: 14
Ontario: 21 Saskatchewan: 17
Ontario: 0 Saskatchewan: 29 (gold medal match)
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
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