September 8th, 2022

(WHITBY, ON) – 

Fall rugby is back! After a two-year absence, the long-standing tradition in Ontario rugby has returned. The McCormick Cup, the Fall Cup and the Gee Gage Cup competitions all kick-off on Saturday, September 10th. It will be the first time the three trophies will be handed out since 2019.

“After completing our first senior men’s summer season since 2019, it is great to roll right into the fall season and keep the momentum going. All 3 Cups should be closely contested, and October 1st at Fletcher’s Fields will be a great culmination event, as all 3 cup finals take place on the day!” said Mark Kellington, Manager, Competition & Events.

Summer Recap

The Marshall 1XV and 2XV leagues both returned in 2022. The 2022 Marshall League consisted of 16 clubs, fielding both a 1XV and 2XV, divided into two conferences. Within each conference, the teams have been placed into four regional divisions of four. 

The Marshall League regular season saw the return on the Marshall Club Championship. Both the 1st and 2nd team competition points were counted equally towards the Club Championship. The winner will be based on total1st XV and 2nd XV points.  All 10 rounds of regular season play and 2 playoff weeks were counted. Congratulations to our Marshall 1XV, Marshall 2XV and our Marshall Club Championship winners!

Marshall 1XV: Toronto Scottish

Marshall 2XV: Peterborough Pagans

Marshall Club Championship: Brantford Harlequins

McCormick Cup Preview

The McCormick Cup is the title championship for the top Senior Men’s First Teams, along with the annual Eastern Ontario Rugby Union (EORU) Champion. Participants and seeding are decided based on final standings from the Marshall regular season and playoffs.

To view the full McCormick Cup schedule, click here. Below is a preview of the first-round matchups.

(1) Toronto Scottish v. (8) Kingston Panthers

The top seed in the 2022 McCormick Cup is the Toronto Scottish. The Scottish earned the one seed by winning the Marshall League Championship. The Scottish finished first in the North Division with a regular season record of 8-1-1 and earned the third seed in the Marshall League playoffs. They then went on the road in the semi-final round and defeated the Brantford Harlequins and topped Balmy Beach in the Marshall League Final and were awarded the top seed for the McCormick Cup.

The Scottish will take on the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union Champions, the Kingston Panthers. The Panthers posted a record of 8-1-1 during the EORU D1 regular season, finishing top of the table. In the EORU Cup Final, Kingston defeated the second-seeded Ottawa Irish 29-17 to earn a spot in the McCormick Cup.

(2) Balmy Beach v. (7) Aurora Barbarians

Balmy Beach enter the McCormick Cup as the second seeded team in the competition. The Beach finished top of league and top of the East division with a record of 9-0-1 accumulating 45 points. After beating the Burlington Centaurs in the semi-final round, Balmy Beach were defeated by the Toronto Scottish in the Marshall League Final.

The Aurora Barbarians posted a record of 5-2-3 during the Marshall League regular season and finished second in the Marshall North Division. This will be the second time this season the Barbs will take on the Beach. In Round 4 of the Marshall League regular season the teams squared off at Tubs Gee Gage Field with the Beach coming away with a 50-12 victory.

(3) Brantford Harlequins v. (6) Waterloo County

The Battle of West Division rivals features the defending McCormick Cup Champions the Brantford Harlequins. The 2019 champs finished the Marshall League regular season with a record of 9-0-1 winning the West Division. Brantford will look to win their fourth McCormick Cup Championship in the last five years. The Harlequins capture the title in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Waterloo County will get another shot at their division rivals in round 1. Waterloo finished in second in the Marshall West Division with a record of 5-0-5. The teams have played each other twice this season, with Brantford winning both matchups. The last game was played on July 23rd with the Harlequins winning 40-20.

(4) Burlington Centaurs v. (5) Oshawa Vikings

The Burlington Centaurs finished in first place in the Marshall South division with a record of 8-0-2. In the Marshall League Semi-Final round, the Centaurs almost came away with an upset win over top-seeded Balmy Beach, losing 39-38.

The fifth seed in the McCormick Cup is the Oshawa Vikings. The Vikings finished second in the East Division with a record of 6-1-3. The Vikings earned victories over Waterloo Country and the Aurora Barbarians in the Marshall League playoffs to earn the fifth seed in the McCormick Cup.

Fall Cup Preview

The Fall Cup is a competition introduced by Rugby Ontario in consultation with the 16 Marshall Clubs in 2019. The competition will feature Senior Men’s First Teams that finished outside of the top half in the Marshall 1st League Standings. Participants and seeding are decided based on final standings from the Marshall regular season and playoffs.

To view the full Fall Cup schedule, click here. Below is a preview of the first-round matchups.

(1) Crusaders Rugby Club - BYE

The top seed in the 2022 Fall Cup competitions is the Crusaders Rugby Club. In the seven-team competition, the Crusaders were awarded a BYE into the Semi-Final round as the top seed. They will play the winner of the 4 v. 5 seed match up. The Crusaders finished the Marshall Regular season with a record of 6-0-4, placing second in the South division.

(2) Peterborough Pagans v. (7) Ajax Wanderers

The 2 v. 7 matchup features a battle of East Division rivals. The second-seeded Peterborough Pagans finished the Marshall League season with a record of 5-0-5 finishing third in the East Division. The Pagans entering the Fall Cup riding a four-match winning streak having won both their games during the Marshall League Playoffs.

The Ajax Wanderers finished fourth in the East division with a record of 2-0-8. Ajax has played Peterborough twice this season, losing both matchups. The last game between the two East rivals was played on June 25th when the Pagans defeated the Wanderers 36-21.

(3) London St. George’s v. (6) Markham Irish Canadians Rugby Club

London St.George’s finished the Marshall League regular season with a record of 3-1-6 placing third in the Marshall West division. London capped off the regular season with a victory over the West division winners the Brantford Harlequins 35-19.

The Markham Irish finished fourth in the North Division with 11 points, posting a record of 1-2-7 over the ten-game regular season. The Irish won both their matches in the Marshall League playoffs to earn the sixth seed in the Fall Cup tournament.

(4) Toronto Nomads v. (5) Barrie RFC

The 4 v. 5 matchup features a rematch from the Marshall League playoffs. The Toronto Nomads finished third in the Marshall South Division 3-0-7 during the regular season. The Nomads matched up against Barrie RFC their last time out, defeating Barrie 29-26.

Barrie will look to get even with the Nomads after their loss in the Marshall League Playoffs. Barrie finished the regular season 0-2-8, racking up 14 points to finish in third in the division.

Gee Gage Cup Preview

The Gee Gage Cup is another historic Rugby Ontario Championship, which is contested by Marshall 2nd League sides and Branch Union first teams. The 2022 Gee Gage Cup features three teams: Toronto Scottish 2XV, Balmy Beach 2XV and Lindsay RFC. To view the full Gee Gage Cup Schedule, click here.

The Toronto Scottish 2XV 8-0-2 in the Marshall 2XV League regular season finishing in first in the North Division. Balmy Beach 2XV also went 8-0-2 in the Marshall 2XV League regular season. The two teams played during the Marshall League playoffs with Balmy Beach winning 33-15. Lindsay RFC competed in the TRU 1 Division in 2022. They went 6-0-2 during the TRU 1 regular season, finishing in third. They won the TRU Cup defeating the Brampton Beavers in the final.