Barbarians cruise in second round of McCormick Cup

October 9, 2013 · 0 Comments

By John Reich

The Aurora Barbarians took on London St. George on Saturday in the second round of the McCormick Cup, Ontario’s symbol of supremacy in Senior Men’s rugby.

Going into the game, the Aurora club worked extensively on a game plan to contain the hard running and clever kicking of London’s outstanding flyhalf, Derek Daypuck, a recent performer with Canada’s national team and current member of Ontario’s provincial team – The Blues.

The tactics proved very effective as Daypuck was held closely in check while the Barbarians took advantage of their scoring opportunities in running up a 33 -5 win to qualify for a semi-final berth in two weeks’ time when they will host Stoney Creek Camels.

The Barbarians scored first on a penalty kick from scrum half Bryn Davies – his first of four on the day, but fell behind 5-3 on a creative run for a try by London approximately ten minutes into the game.

But that was all the scoring for London as the York Region Team responded with trys from Mike Neely, Matt Prevoe and Jesse Walker, all of which were also converted by Davies.

After the game, coach Ian McLeod said, “[it was] not our best effort offensively but the defence was tenacious and was exactly what we needed when facing a team we have not played in three years and came into the game after scoring 51 points a week earlier against Oakville Crusaders – widely known as a strong defensive team.

“I am proud of our guys and I think this sets us up well for the next round against Stoney Creek.”

Stoney Creek qualified for the semi-final with a 13-7 win over Balmy Beach. The other semi will see number 4 Markham Irish, winners over Waterloo County, at home to number 9 Brantford Harlequins, upset winners over first seed and league champions, Toronto Scottish.

Aurora’s second team was also a winner in the Gee Gage Cup competition, prevailing over Oakville Crusaders 27-3. They will face Markham Irish in two weeks’ time in the second round of the tournament. Scoring for Aurora in the match was James Coombes, Nick Manoukas, James Hulbert and Connor Libby, each with a try. Hulbert added two converts to round out the scoring.