Ontario Blues v Embra A

[hp18]

BLUES TO FACE EDINBURGH RUGBY


Friday, October 10, 2014 - Submitted by Brock Smith - Rugby Ontario Communications


(TORONTO, ON) – Fresh off their fourth straight Canadian Rugby Championship title, the Ontario Blues are putting their celebrations on hold, announcing that their 2014 season has been extended to the end of October, with the team set to travel to Scotland to take on Pro12 club Edinburgh Rugby.

Ontario’s senior men’s provincial rugby team has accepted an invitation to face Edinburgh’s ‘A’ side - a side that will feature a mix of senior club players and elite developmental players – on Oct. 27 in the Scottish capital.

The late October fixture will mark the first occasion where a Canadian Rugby Championship team will face a professional opponent, a milestone that gives Blues players and staff a great source of pride.

“We couldn’t be more excited for this challenge,” said Blues manager Mark Winokur. “To be the first CRC team invited to take on a pro side is not only great honour, but also a great indication of how the Blues program has grown to become Canada’s flagship provincial men’s rugby program.”

“To be able to give our players a chance to play in a professional environment, and be seen by professional scouts, is unlike any opportunity we’ve had before,” added Winokur. “Coming off our fourth straight MacTier Cup, our players are champing at the bit to showcase Ontario’s brand of rugby on the international stage.”

Edinburgh’s ‘A’ side is well-primed for their meeting with the Blues, having already faced Glasgow Warriors ‘A’ and Sale Jets sides this season, and are looking forward to testing themselves against the reigning Canadian champions.

“The benefit of matches like these, especially for the Academy boys, is it’s the step up from the club game where they have been playing – which has been brilliant for them – to play with and against professional rugby players,” said Bryan Easson, BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy coach for Edinburgh. “It shows them the pace and the intensity of what’s required at professional level. You can only tell them at training days but now that they’re experiencing it, it’s moving them on a little bit quicker. It’s a huge benefit."

Match kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. EDT) at Meggetland Sports Complex in Edinburgh, the home ground of Scottish Premiership side Boroughmuir RFC.

The Blues will spend three days in Scotland (Oct. 25-28), and on top of their exhibition match against Edinburgh, the team will also train at Murrayfield, the home of the Scottish Rugby Union and the primary venue for Scotland’s home test matches.

The announcement of the Blues’ Scotland tour comes shortly after Canadian national team head coaches selected fifteen members of the 2014 MacTier Cup-winning Ontario Blues – 13 players and two staff from Ontario’s senior men’s provincial rugby program – to squads set to compete in international rugby events this month.

Eight Blues players and two staff members have been named to the Canadian national side set to compete in the IRB Americas Rugby Championship throughout October, while five have been selected to Canada’s national men’s sevens side competing in the IRB World Seven Series’ Gold Coast Sevens on Oct. 11-12.

Throughout their past four MacTier Cup-winning seasons, the Ontario Blues have a successful record of 18 wins and 3 losses in Canadian Rugby Championship play. The provincial side is also 19-1 in their past 20 matches in all competitions, which includes exhibition matches against top-tier American club sides.

Blues head coach Chris Silverthorn will name his travelling squad to face Edinburgh after the commencement of the Americas Rugby Championship on Oct. 19.

[Rico]

No idea what the Ontario Blues are like but I like the idea of these "A" games in terms of giving fringe players and/or those returning from injury some game time.

Just hope that some of the young players who do well (Dean, Thompson, Glashan for instance) are actually rewarded with some 1st XV game time every now and then, otherwise these "A" games will become a bit pointless.

[biffer]

Yeah we need these games. I'd hope this season of having a few more and publicising them a bit is a precursor to something a wee bit more formal next year, Scottish-Irish A league or some such,

[broken leg guy]

our A teams to play in the B&I next year? would be a good competitive run out

[robdinsdale]

our A teams to play in the B&I next year? would be a good competitive run out

The clubs would have a fit if they lost 2 spots to the pro teams, even though they do get relentlessly horsed every season. And to be fair, the B&I is a good thing for the clubs to aspire to.

[bignose]

our A teams to play in the B&I next year? would be a good competitive run out

The clubs would have a fit if they lost 2 spots to the pro teams, even though they do get relentlessly horsed every season. And to be fair, the B&I is a good thing for the clubs to aspire to.

Didn't the SRU pull out of the B&I this season? Or am I having one of my "moments"?

[robdinsdale]

our A teams to play in the B&I next year? would be a good competitive run out

The clubs would have a fit if they lost 2 spots to the pro teams, even though they do get relentlessly horsed every season. And to be fair, the B&I is a good thing for the clubs to aspire to.

Didn't the SRU pull out of the B&I this season? Or am I having one of my "moments"?

You are probably right as I can't see any Scottish fixtures for it any more. Why did they do that?

But yeah, let's get the A teams in it then.

[Cammo Gunner]

From the font of all knowledge - Wiki...

The number of teams playing in the sixth competition is reduced from twenty-four to twenty with the withdrawal of the Scottish teams:

12 teams from the RFU Championship, the second tier of English rugby
4 Irish provinces represented by 'A' teams
4 clubs from the Principality Premiership, the second tier of Welsh rugby

If it's good enough for the Irish to send their 'A' teams & the Welsh region feeder teams to be in the B&I cup, it should be of benefit to ER & Warriors too.

[biffer]

The principality premiership is where the Welsh clubs play, not the regions. So the Irish and Welsh treat it differently.

[Cammo Gunner]

The principality premiership is where the Welsh clubs play, not the regions. So the Irish and Welsh treat it differently.

Except that 2 of the Welsh sides this year are the feeder teams for the Osmonds & Scarelets...

[Frenchy]

The principality premiership is where the Welsh clubs play, not the regions. So the Irish and Welsh treat it differently.

Except that 2 of the Welsh sides this year are the feeder teams for the Osmonds & Scarelets...

I don't know how the Welsh side works, but I thought they were feeder teams in the same sense that Heriot's is a feeder team for Edinburgh.

[Frenchy]

The principality premiership is where the Welsh clubs play, not the regions. So the Irish and Welsh treat it differently.

Except that 2 of the Welsh sides this year are the feeder teams for the Osmonds & Scarelets...

I don't know how the Welsh system works, but I thought they were feeder teams in the same sense that Heriot's is a feeder team for Edinburgh.

[broken leg guy]

The principality premiership is where the Welsh clubs play, not the regions. So the Irish and Welsh treat it differently.

Except that 2 of the Welsh sides this year are the feeder teams for the Osmonds & Scarelets...

I don't know how the Welsh side works, but I thought they were feeder teams in the same sense that Heriot's is a feeder team for Edinburgh.

You're right, Newport rfc feed the dragons, as do bedwas and possibly ponty, in the same way our prem clubs do, generally though (like us) there's very few players come up, it's more just a place to send the youngsters. Generally it causes a bit of friction too as the pro's are expected to go straight into a starting spot.

I think the SRU pulled the clubs out as it was doing nothing for them, bristol v Ayr really isn't much of a game, I can only think of a couple of victories for Scottish teams in the few years they were in it. I know bedwas sent a second string up to Stirling 2/3 years ago and battered them.

I suggested the A teams going in as its competitive fixtures and may make us look a bit better if our reserve teams beat the top champ clubs.

[hp18]

The B&I was going to clash with a lot of premiership fixtures iirc.

[biffer]

Given the injury situation, who the hell is going to play in this game?