Ontario Blues announce 2016 fixtures

The Ontario Blues have announced their schedule for the 2016 year, with a half-dozen matches including four league fixtures in the Johnsonville Canadian Rugby Championship. Their streak of four consecutive MacTier Cup titles was brought to a halt by the Wolf Pack last year, and the Toronto-based franchise will be looking to reclaim their crown in 2016.

A pre-season match against an Alberta Selects side will serve as a warm-up for their CRC opener against the Rock at the wonderfully named Sherwood Forest Park, home of the Burlington Centaurs. The remainder of the home fixtures will be played at Fletcher’s Fields in Markham.

The second ‘friendly’ the schedule is a top quality fixture against England Counties, a select side composed of the best players in England’s National divisions, one level below the Greene King IPA Championship. Ontario hosted Counties previously in 2010, losing narrowly by a score of 32-26. The English side that day featured a number of players who have since joined the professional ranks, including current Northampton Saints scrumhalf Tom Kessell.

While it no longer appears that North Otago will be stopping in Ontario – they are still to play the Wolf Pack and BC Bears out west – there remains room on the calendar to add another match or two, with All-Ireland League Division 1A club Cork Constitution one potential opponent still to be confirmed.

High Performance Manager David Butcher says the team is taking a professional approach this term.

“The CRC’s level of play has increased every year the competition has been held, and while the league’s margin for error is getting slimmer it’s forcing our players to adopt an increasingly professional mentality to remain a step ahead of the competition. There are no easy matches in the CRC, but the Blues are looking forward to the challenges ahead, and the program is especially relishing the opportunity to play four top-level matches on home soil this season.”

Ontario have contributed numerous players to national programs in recent years, with 10 of Canada’s World Cup squad having worn the Blue jersey, and another seven joining the team for the first time in the Americas Rugby Championship. They will send 11 of their top young players to Texas this weekend with Canada’s national u20 side, and two more from outside those lists have just returned from Sydney and the HSBC Sevens Series.

Team manager Mark Winokur says the strong fixture list is a boost to the program.

“We are very excited about our best fixture list in years, and to be able to add England Counties to an already challenging year is a real bonus. Top quality international sides are reaching out to the CRC for games, and that shows the quality of Canada’s top domestic competition, and the potential for how far our league can go.”

FIXTURES

with files from Brock Smith and Rugby Ontario