Gryphon rugby men top Queen’s for third straight OUA title
GUELPH – Four consecutive tries helped the Guelph Gryphons claim their third consecutive OUA men’s rugby championship Thursday evening at Varsity Field.
Those tries – three in the first half and the fourth one early in the second half – propelled the Gryphs to a 38-22 victory over the Queen’s Gaels in the championship match.
Queen’s had opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the second minute before the hosts replied with their first three tries for a 21-3 lead at halftime.
The teams traded scores throughout the second half with the Gaels responding to each score by the Gryphs.
Jacob Ince, Josh Ince, Adam Ford, Kobe Faust and Brenden Black each scored a try for the hosts. Tomas Dallan picked up all the other points as he had a penalty kick and five tries.
Ben Greenstein, James Webb and Dan Svoboda each scored a try for the Gaels while Webb also had a penalty kick and two converts.
The championship win was Guelph’s fourth in seven seasons and sixth overall in the history of the league that started in 1923. The Gaels have won it a league-best 25 times, all since 1963.
Both the Gryphs and Gaels advance to next week’s Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship tournament in Langley, B.C., where they’ll be joined by the host Trinity Western Spartans, B.C. Coastal Cup champion UBC Thunderbirds, Coastal Cup finalist Victoria Vikes, Prairies champion Calgary Dinos, Quebec champion Ottawa Gee-Gees and Atlantic champion Memorial Sea-Hawks.
The national tournament is to start Wednesday with the quarter-finals while the semifinals are slated for next Friday and the medal games for next Sunday. The Gryphs are the defending national bronze medalists.
- Guelph Sports Journal