The Varsity Blues men’s rugby team fell 78–5 to the McMaster Marauders on Friday at Varsity Centre.
The game started well for the Blues. “We came out ready to play,” noted head coach Paul DiCarmine. “We were really good in the very first minutes; then we lacked consistency.”
Indeed, the Blues were looking to make an early breakthrough, kicking off the game and immediately pushing their opponents back thanks to an efficient break. However, the Marauders intercepted the ball and opened the score 0–7 only three minutes in.
Though both teams played hard rugby, the action remained mainly in Toronto’s half of the field, as McMaster’s players broke through. The impressive Blues’ defense managed to contain the Marauders until the 22nd minute, when the Marauder’s left wing scored the second try of the game, after winning back the ball on a scrum.
Despite being down 0–12, the Blues didn’t demobilize; Toronto kept on pressuring the Marauders with an efficient defense, tackle after tackle. There were even signs of a comeback, as Blues’ outside centre Nicholas Smith scored what was to be Toronto’s lone try of the game in the 27th minute. The score then read 5–12.
However, the Marauders upped their game during the last ten minutes of the first half. After a perfect lineout, McMaster’s number 3 crossed the Blues’ defense and scored the Marauder’s third try, which was converted by scrum-half Andrew Ferguson (who had 19 points in total). Only two minutes later, the Marauder’s scored again to lead 5¬¬–24. Though Toronto’s defense did its best to contain the Marauders, McMaster managed to score another two tries in the last six minutes of the half.
The half-time score read 5¬–36. “ It’s tough to come back from that kind of deficit,” said DiCarmine. The Blues task was made even more difficult when, only 30 seconds after the re-start, the Marauders scored another try. Over the following 15 minutes the Blues conceded another three tries.
Despite the 5–64 score-line, the Blues proved very strong mentally, as they kept trying to cross the Marauders’ defense. Over 12 long minutes, the Blues continued their offensive, at times standing only 5 to 15 metres from McMaster’s tryline but never quite finding an opening. In the end, the Marauders managed to win back the ball and find a lineout.
The two teams continued to fight to win over the field and score. Once again, McMaster made the breakthrough, scoring twice in the last five minutes of the game.
The game ended 5–78 to the visiting Marauders. “When it was try-time, we were not ready to score,” DiCarmine observed.
The Blues have, however, won one game so far: the Guelph Gryphon’s forfeited next week’s fixture, though the Blues would rather play them. “We are building a team, and it’s all about experiencing,” said DiCarmine. “One of the reasons why we lost is that McMaster’s team is more experienced; hence they’re able to be more dynamic. We just need experience. We need to play.”
The Blues will return to action on Saturday, October 22 when they host the Brock Badgers at the Varsity Center.
