Irish Canadian Rugby Club 57 - Aurora Barbarians 10
ICRC Dev. XV 79 - Aurora Barbarians 0
26 / 06 / 04
League

The Irish Women made a statement this weekend as they hammered the Brampton Beavers 57-10 with an impressive display rugby.  The struggling Beavers, who have been plagued by a rash of injuries this season, were never really in the game and put up a brave effort against a relentless attack from the impressive women in green.  The Irish started the day with an emphatic 79 –0 victory over Brampton 2nds and got the ball rolling on a day of dominance.

A well-executed back line move saw Jackie Scott shoot through a mid-field gap to open the scoring 6 minutes in.  Brampton hit back with a brilliant individual effort from impressive Canadian international Brook Hilditch to level the game at 5 – 5.  That was the closest that Brampton got as the Irish secured their bonus point in the first half and a 20 – 5 halftime lead through trys by Tracie Allan, Jane Segal and Lisa Wilkinson.  Karen Ferguson scored in the opening minute of the second half with a piercing run through the midfield and eventually the scores came fast and furious.  Allan with 2 more trys, Barb Lamb, Catharine Bucknam, Danielle Dillon, and Segal adding another try and conversion all scored in the second half.  A consolation Brampton try at the whistle finished off the scoring for a final score of 57 – 10.

“I was pleased with our performance today.  We have been working on several things the last few weeks and it is starting to pay dividends,” commented Head Coach Rodin “Koko” Lozada.  “We were looking to cut down on unforced mistakes and better execution of our basic skills and I was satisfied that we achieved both goals this weekend.”

The Irish have made a point of getting younger this season with an eye to developing talent for the future.  As a result the 2^nd XV started a line up with 9 players under the age of 21 and they came through with an utterly dominant 79 – 0 victory.  The Irish were led by former Canadian Junior scrum half Kirsten Sample and future star Karen Dillaine with 3 trys apiece.  Jess Foran, Val Pospodinis, Ashley Scott, Jess Panzer, Becky Lee and Jen Cufino all scored trys and Sonia Sennik added a try and 7 conversions to round out the scoring.  “I have thought all season long that the 2^nd XV was capable of that sort of performance.  All they needed was some time to gel and form some team cohesion,” said Lozada when asked to comment on the 2^nd XV’s performance.

The long weekend break will be welcome by the Irish, as they have come through a very successful but tough stretch of games in the month of June.  Next games are on July 10^th as the 1^st XV will face league newcomers Brantford Harlequins and the 2^nd XV face a huge test in the league leaders Toronto Scottish 2nds.