Ontario Blues Senior Men to Begin CRC Season this Saturday

The Ontario Arrows would like to wish the best of luck to the Ontario Blues in their upcoming Canadian Rugby Championship campaign.

Sixteen members of the Blues’ 23-man CRC squad have featured for the Arrows over the past 12 months, while several members of the Arrows coaching staff are also working with the provincial team throughout the national championship.

Go well, lads!

Rugby Ontario Release

The Ontario Blues Senior Men’s team will be travelling to Montreal over the long weekend to take on the Atlantic Rock. The match will be the Ontario Blues’ Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) opener and they will look to come out of the gate strong against their eastern rivals.

The CRC opener will take place at Concordia University on Saturday August 4, 2018 and kickoff is set for 7:00pm ET. Rugby Quebec plans to live stream through their Facebook account.

The Blues and Rock have met each other in CRC action a total of 13 times. The Blues have won all but two of those matches including a 24-17 win in their 2017 meeting.

Senior Men’s CRC format for 2018 calls for a home-and-home between the Blues and the Rock, while the Western competitors – the BC Bears and Prairie Wolfpack – are also playing a home-and-home series. Prairie Wolfpack upset the defending champions in their series opener with a narrow 27-24 win on Friday.

The second match of the Blues’ home-and-home series will return to Burlington Centaurs Rugby Football Club (Sherwood Forest Park) in Burlington – the scene of the Blues’ monumental defeat of the Glendale Raptors in May of last year. The match will be taking place on Tuesday August 7, 2018 at 6:45pm ET and admission is $10 per person at the gate. The second match will be streamed live on Rugby Ontario’s YouTube, thanks to eThereLive.

The Blues have also named their 23-man squad ahead of the CRC opener. In total, 12 Rugby Ontario clubs are represented on the list.

For more information on the Ontario Blues Senior Men’s program, go to http://www.rugbyontario.com/blues-senior-men/.

Ontario Blues Senior Men’s Squad – 2018 Canadian Rugby Championship

Forwards

Andrew Quattrin, Aurora Barbarians*
Djustice Sears-Duru, Crusaders
Emerson Prior, Peterborough Pagans
Eric Howard, Brantford Harlequins*
Kolby Francis, Brantford Harlequins*
Lucas Rumball, Balmy Beach*
Marcello Wainwright, Toronto Scottish*
Mike Sheppard, Stoney Creek Camels*
Mo Yusuf, Peterborough Pagans
Paul Ciulini, Aurora Barbarians*
Peter Milazzo, Toronto Scottish*
Rob Brouwer, Lindsay RFC*
Tom Van Horne, Brantford Harlequins*

Backs

Andrew Ferguson, Crusaders*
D’Shawn Bowen, Kingston Panthers
Jamie Leveridge, Crusaders*
Jesse Lofthouse, Markham Irish
Kainoa Lloyd, Mississauga Blues*
Kieron Martin, Hamilton Hornets
Kyle Lagasca, Guelph Redcoats*
Mitch Richardson, Stoney Creek Camels*
Riley Dinardo, Toronto Scottish
Shawn Windsor, Stoney Creek Camels*

*  = Featured for Ontario Arrows in 2017 or 2018

Coaching Staff

Head Coach-Chris Silverthorn
Assistant Coach-Cory Hector
Assistant Coach-Aaron Carpenter
Manager-Mark Winokur
Performance Analyst-Rodin Lozada

Ontario Blues Senior Men’s Canadian Rugby Championship Schedule

GAME 1: Blues vs. Atlantic Rock – August 4, 2018 – Concordia University, Montreal QC 7:00pm ET ($10 at gate)

GAME 2: Atlantic Rock vs. Blues – August 7, 2018 – Burlington ON 6:45pm ET ($10 at gate)

SEMI FINAL: August 23, 2018 – Calgary, AB (Calgary Rugby Park)

GOLD/BRONZE: August 26, 2018 – Calgary, AB (Calgary Rugby Park)