GEORGIAN COLLEGE
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The Georgian Grizzlies men’s rugby team travelled to face the St. Lawrence Surge in the OCAA gold medal game on Saturday afternoon in Kingston.
This was the second match between these two teams this season, as the two met back on Oct. 3 and played to a 12-12 draw. The gold medal match was a similar tight contest between the number one and two seeds.
The two teams battled in the elements with wet conditions and a heavy wind throughout the afternoon.
In the first half, the Grizzlies and Surge battled for field position and looked to bank points whenever they could.
Georgian missed a penalty kick which would have got them on the board early. The Surge responded with a pair of successful penalty kicks of their own and led the game 6-0 at halftime.
In the second half, a tough break early on cost the Grizzlies as a blocked kicked turned and went the other way as the Surge were able to score their one and only try of the game.
Georgian continued to push and were able to respond with less than 10 minutes to play when Rahal Delpachitra (Sri Lanka) got the Grizzlies on the board with a try. Benjamin Robinson (Frankford) hit the convert to cut the lead to 13-7.
That was as close as the Grizzlies were able to get, as the Surge were able to hold on to claim the gold medal.
Despite the loss, this was the sixth consecutive season the Grizzlies have earned a medal in men’s rugby and their third straight silver medal (2021, 2019, 2018). Georgian last won gold in 2016.
For their efforts in the game, Georgian’s Daniel Martyn (Barrie) and James Robb-Kennedy (Barrie) were named OCAA Men’s Rugby Championship All-Stars.
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