Irish Canadian Rugby Club 10 - Balmy Beach 9
26 / 10 / 02
McCormick Cup Semi-Finals

The Irish Canadians gained a berth in the 2002 McCormick Cup Final next Saturday with a bitterly fought 10-9 win over Balmy Beach at Fletchers Field.

Peter Crockers' try from a pushover with seven minutes to play proved the winner, as the two highest scoring teams in the Marshall Division could only manage one major on a cold, windy afternoon in front of a big crowd.

Beach, who came into the game riding a six game win streak, had the wind in the first half, then gained a man advantage when Irish lock Dave Laing was sin-binned.  Colin Turnbulls' penalty shortly before half was the only score Beach could manage, however, despite both teams having good chances in the red zone.

The frenzied defence on both sides continued well into the second half.  Ed Gardner levelled the score at 3 after early Irish pressure, but Turnbull's second goal after an hour put the Beach in the lead.  Irish turned right around and pressured in the Beach end, and Beach hooker Tom Marcacinni was yellow carded with 11 minutes to play.  The Irish finally gained a put in on the Beach line after torrid pressure on several Beach scrums, and with the crowd on their feet, marched the set piece over the line for Crocker to drop on.

Beach came right back and gained a penalty with four minutes left, which Turnbull chose to kick for points, cutting the lead to 10-9.  Irish then stole two key line outs in the dying minutes to end the game in the Beach 22.

There were some incredible pieces of defensive play throughout the match, none bigger than Istvan Mozes tackle on Turnbull as the Scottish import headed for the corner.  The ensuing release of the ball was then hacked 50 meters down the park by captain George Azar to snuff out the best Beach threat midway through the second half.

"We expected a tough game from the Beach, as they have been on fire lately," said a visibly relieved Irish coach Mark Winokur afterwards, "and that certainly was one of the most intense games I have seen in a while.  All credit to the Beach, who have really turned it on lately-but our guys played fantastic defence and kept them from scoring a try.  We also had an edge in the set piece, and that may have been the single most significant advantage anyone could get all day."

In a bizarre historical note, this marks the third time in a dozen years that the Irish have beaten the Beach 10-9 at Fletchers in a cup game; the 1990 semi-final, the 1992 final and yesterday.

The Development team played their best game of the season in the days' opener, downing Balmy Beach 23-10 to also move into the cup final.

"It's a great feeling to have two teams playing in the final," said Winokur, "and I'm particularly happy for all the guys who have played for a long time without ever getting there.  It's a special day, and an honour to be a part of it."

The first XV will face Yeomen, 30-17 winners over Oakville yesterday, while the Development side faces the Crusaders, who beat York 22-8 to advance.

The festivities will begin at 11:45 with the awarding of the Marshall Division League Cup to the Irish firsts; the Development side face Oakville at noon; and the McCormick Cup kicks off at 2 pm on Saturday. 

To a man, the players were appreciative of the support they had yesterday, and hope for even more next week-we are counting on seeing you there in green!