From the ridiculous to the sublime, as the Irish Canadians defeated Oakville Crusaders 22-20 Saturday at Fletchers to end their unbeaten streak at 17.  Ed Gardner's fifth penalty of the game with three minutes left capped a second half comeback as the Irish avenged a 51-10 defeat in the first league encounter.  

The win propels the Irish past Beach into third place in the league; Irish have both the one game in hand and the tie breaker over Beach.  Oakville led 17-10 at halftime, and looked to be on their way; playing a tight, disciplined game, the Irish fought back and took control in the last 15 minutes to win.  Dale Burleigh scored the Irish try late in the first half, and Gardner's foot took care of the rest. Cru had two tries off their patented line out maul in the first half.  

"Obviously a much better effort, and it looks we are back in the hunt," said a relieved Irish coach Mark Winokur. "Our overall play, loose and undisciplined at The Academy last week, was much better, and our commitment to defense improved 100%"  The win capped a dramatic week in which the greens tied the Academy 23-23 in the last minute; beat Old Crescent 31-28 late; and Cru 22-20 late.  

Not to be outdone, the development side handed Oakville their first loss in the second division by an 11-10 score. "Guys on the Development seem to know that they're being scouted for promotion to the "one's", and they're putting in incredible efforts." said coach Neil Maxwell, "The forwards in particular played very well - against a much larger opposition pack.  Our quick ruck ball was executed perfectly."   The Timberwolves (third team) game was postponed to August 30 due to over booking at Fletchers.  All three teams host York next week, with everything to play for.