Blues hold off stern Rock challenge

The Ontario Blues held off a defiant Atlantic Rock side to come away 24-17 winners in their opening round Canadian Rugby Championship fixture at Farnham Mill Rugby Park in Truro, Nova Scotia, on Saturday. After building an ominous 24-0 lead in the first half the Blues saw their chances disappear in the second, conceding numerous penalties and 17 unanswered points to give the home side hope.

With the wind at their back the Blues owned territory and possession for nearly the entirety of the opening stanza. The Rock were on their heels with Patrick Parfrey deflected an Ontario pass that instead landed in the hands of Kainoa Lloyd for a simple try. Andrew Ferguson hit the conversion from a difficult angle to take the full seven.

Unable to clear their lines, a 22-metre drop-out was fielded and countered with expert precision by the Blues, ending in a try for Rory McDonell. Ferguson couldn’t quite land that opportunity, but made good after inspiring a score for Lucas Rumball just moments later. The scrumhalf took a quick tap penalty and found his flanker on his shoulder to barge in for a third try in the opening quarter.

After committing too many infringements at the breakdown a yellow card was shown to the Rock, with centre Charles DeBove serving the team offense. The Blues made the overlap count immediately, putting the ball through the hands to Dan Moor to score in the corner.

When the Rock at last found their way into Blues territory they were rewarded with points, albeit from an Ontario error. A loose ball was pounced on by Moe Abdelmonem who took route one to the try-line to give his side a much-needed boost before the break. Cooper Coats knocked over the routine conversion.

The second half started badly for the Rock with a second yellow, this time to hooker Martial Lagain, again for team infringements. No points would come, however, with the Blues opting for the scrum and the Rock defense holding strong. Instead it was Coats who would be given an opportunity, and his big right boot was on song to take the three.

As replacements started to pour into the game Ontario’s discipline took a turn for the worse and Hank McQueen drew the short stick after too many penalties. Despite the advantage the Rock couldn’t find a score, and a second yellow, this one to Jeremy Wright, was nearly killed off as well until the Blues defense finally cracked.

Graham Barry went over on the end of a Mike Hamson offload after multiple phases with the conversion from Coats making the difference just a converted try. There was no time to complete the comeback however, as the Blues controlled the kickoff to wind the clock down and take the win.

The two sides now prepare for the three-match tournament in Calgary beginning on August 13. Neither will be entirely satisfied with the performance but the Blues have at least escaped with a win and their hopes of a sixth MacTier Cup title still intact.

SCORING

ROCK 17
Tries – M. Abdelmonem (34’), G. Barry (77’)
Cons – C. Coats 2/2 (35’, 78’)
Pens – C. Coats 1/1 (48’)
Yellow cards – C. DeBove (28’), M. Lagain (44’)

BLUES 24
Tries – K. Lloyd (7’), R. McDonell (15’), L. Rumball (18’), D. Moor (29’)
Cons – A. Ferguson 2/4 (8’, 19’)
Pens – A. Ferguson 0/1
Drop goals – A. Ferguson 0/1
Yellow cards – H. McQueen (55’), J. Wright (68’)

TEAMS

ATLANTIC ROCK
1 Frank Walsh (17 Alex Forrest HT), 2 Martial Lagain (16 Owen Parfrey 64’), 3 Jordon Power (18 Cole Keith HT), 4 Conor Keys, 5 Brad Lester, 6 Lucas Hotton (20 Liam Carter 48’), 7 Moe Abdelmonem (19 Evan Dickie 66’), 8 Mike Hamson, 9 Tony Pomroy (21 Graham Barry 66’), 10 Patrick Parfrey (capt.), 11 Dan Lantos (16 Owen Parfrey 46’-54’), 12 Charles DeBove, 13 Aidan McMullan, 14 Cooper Coats, 15 Brett Johnson

Not used: 22 Jack McCarthy, 23 Connor Sheehan

ONTARIO BLUES
1 Rob Brouwer (capt.) (17 Pat Lynott 70’), 2 Eric Howard (16 AJ Quattrin 64’), 3 Tom Dolezel (18 Ryan Surgenor 70’), 4 Hank McQueen, 5 Mike Sheppard (19 Kolby Francis 52’), 6 Lucas Rumball (20 Andrew Wilson 66’), 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Jeremy Wright, 9 Andrew Ferguson (21 Mario van der Westhuizen 70’), 10 Shawn Windsor, 11 Kainoa Lloyd (23 Johnny Sheridan 68’), 12 Alex Colborne (22 Will Kelly 58’), 13 Josh Campbell (22 Will Kelly 4’-9’), 14 Dan Moor, 15 Rory McDonell

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Moe Chaudhry (RC)
Assistants: Robin Kaluzniak (RC) & Dale Hall (RC)