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The Senior Men’s Canadian Rugby Championship reaches its conclusion on Sunday at Calgary Rugby Park as the Atlantic Rock will take on the Ontario Blues in an all-east Final. It’s been a long time coming for the Rock, who haven’t been to the big dance since 2011 with their last MacTier Cup coming in 2010. The Blues were finalists in 2017 and have lifted the Cup five times since their first in 2011.
Just one change has been made – tentatively – to the Rock’s lineup from the team that beat the Wolf Pack on Thursday. Jamie Mackenzie is named at scrumhalf but will face a late fitness test, as will No8 Matt Murphy. Should Mackenzie be ruled out Graham Barry would retain his spot as halfback. The back row would be re-jigged with Kyle Baillie moving to No8 and Moe Abdelmonem starting on the flank.
The Blues have also stuck with the team that put nine tries over on the Bears. A lone exception sees the return of Arrows captain Mike Sheppard in the second row, with Kolby Francis shifted to the bench. Otherwise the lineup is untouched with NOLA Gold hooker Eric Howard again named as an impact sub.
In terms of international experience the nod goes to Ontario but only just. Half the pack have been capped at senior level with another three in the backs and two of the front row reserves. If Mackenzie takes the field the Rock would also have seven capped starters with veteran prop Frank Walsh another on the bench.
The Rock have impressed at the scrum during the competition. Alex Forrest and Cole Keith made mincemeat of their Wolf Pack opposites in the Semi Final and the Blues struggled mightily in that department at their CRC opener in Montreal. The lineout also favors the Rock slightly with Baillie, Matt Heaton, and Liam Carter all adept at disrupting.
It’s open play where the Blues will fancy their chances. Andrew Ferguson and Shawn Windsor steered the attack with expert prowess against BC and Kainoa Lloyd is the best finisher in the competition. Ironically it’s two former Blues who will be tasked with shutting down the Ontario backline – Rock midfielders Jordan Wilson-Ross and Josh Campbell.
Expect this to be a close match that stays within reach to the final whistle. Both kickers – Ferguson and Cooper Coats – are accurate with the latter getting the edge in range. The two teams split their home-and-away series and each won their Semi Final match in decisive fashion.
Ontario have featured in seven consecutive MacTier Cup finals and that experience is significant though the underdog status will certainly suit the Rock. The Blues enter as favorites to win back the Cup based on that experience and their familiarity through the Arrows program.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 4pm Eastern, 5pm Atlantic. A live stream is available on the Rugby Canada Facebook page.
ATLANTIC ROCK
1 Alex Forrest, 2 Martial Lagain (capt.), 3 Cole Keith, 4 Liam Carter, 5 Brad Lester, 6 Kyle Baillie (or Moe Abdelmonem), 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Matt Murphy (or Kyle Baillie), 9 Jamie Mackenzie (or Graham Barry), 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Aidan McMullan, 12 Jordan Wilson-Ross, 13 Josh Campbell, 14 Paddy McNicholas, 15 Cooper Coats
Replacements: 16 Owen Parfrey, 17 Jordon Power, 18 Frank Walsh, 19 Lucas Hotton, 20 Zac Coughlan, 21 Moe Abdelmonem, 22 Tony Pomroy, 23 Maxime Perreault-Brière
ONTARIO BLUES
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 AJ Quattrin, 3 Rob Brouwer (capt.), 4 Paul Ciulini, 5 Mike Sheppard, 6 Peter Milazzo, 7 Marcello Wainwright, 8 Lucas Rumball, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Shawn Windsor, 11 Kainoa Lloyd, 12 Jamie Leveridge, 13 Andrew Coe, 14 Johnny Sheridan, 15 Lucas Hammond
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Doug Wooldridge, 18 Roman Cao-Riquelme, 19 Kolby Francis, 20 Josh van Horne, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Mitch Richardson, 23 Kieron Martin
Date: Sunday, August 26
Venue: Calgary Rugby Park
Kickoff: 14:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern, 17:00 Atlantic)
Broadcasts: Facebook
