Game Report: October 27, 2007

Senior Men's First Team
The McCormick Cup comes home to Aurora Barbarians after 51 years!!
Aurora Barbarians RFC (ABRFC) 18 - Balmy Beach R.F.C. 14

The Aurora Barbarians R.F.C. attained their goal for the season, by winning the 2007 McCormick Cup and completing the elusive Ontario rugby double of winning the cup and league title. This was the first win in the RugbyOntario McCormick Cup for the Barbarians since 1956, a long gap, but worth every moment of waiting!!

This was an exciting cup final, and the result was always in doubt for the full 80 minutes. The game was tough, hard and typical of cup rugby, as both teams played flat out rugby.

In last weeks game report the idea that the game of rugby can be divided into four 20 minute quarters was discussed, and today’s final was proof of this!! It was also a game of contrasts with Aurora Barbs playing nervous rugby for the first 20 minutes and falling behind the Beach team. The second 20 minutes was about some hard hitting and grinding out tough yards and huge physical contact – this started to take a toll on the Beach players as a number of their players went down from injuries. Although the Beach team took a 14 – 3 score into half-time through two excellent tries, there was a sense that the Barbs had made some progress in finding their rhythm and that the second half would be very different. The Barbs had played hard rugby for the first 40 minutes and had laid a base for the second half as they had started to wear down the Beach forwards. Dave Ashwood kicked a penalty to score the only Barbs points before the break.

In summary, the first 40 minutes was typical of cup final rugby – the pressure and the pre-game nerves showed in the first 20 minutes, with simple mistakes that the Barbs would not normally make –simple errors in timing of the pass, missed kicks and restarts, missed jumpers in the line-out and weak rucking. The Barbs finally settled down, but were not playing with their normal flair, in part a result of the Beach pressure and the field conditions, and in part a result of simply trying too hard, a typical problem in close cup final games.

The second half was a total contrast as a couple of key Aurora Barbarians substitutions changed the balance of the game. The Aurora team opened the second 40 minutes with an important score when Dave Ashwood kicked a difficult penalty to close the score to 14 – 6. The Barbarians continued to put intense pressure on the Beach forwards and wait for the scores to come. This ink stained scribe had a sense that the momentum of the game was shifting to the Barbs and an excellent goal line stand by the Aurora team clearly showed that they were not about to let the Beach go further ahead. This stand was a turning point in the game as it seemed to take a lot out of the older Beach pack. The maturity of the Barbs players came through as there was no panic and there seemed to be a sense among the players that the team would inevitably move into a higher gear and put up some scores. In addition, Marco "Deej" Di Girolamo made a number of outstanding tackles to prevent Beach breaks, critically important as a Beach score at this point would have shifted the game initiative back to the Beach. One of Deej’s tackles on the excellent Jesse Henkenhaf bought gasps from the crowd for its intensity and incredible power, probably the tackle of the game, although Barbs #8 Nolan Ott put in some huge hits all day long as well!! Games are won by the balance of great attack and great defence, and in this game the Barbs defence was outstanding all game long, with few Beach break aways.

As the Aurora Barbs entered the final 20 minutes of the game, they started to put the ball wide and open gaps in the Beach defense. At 63 minutes, the Barbs won a scrum on the Beach 5 meter line and Nolan Ott broke from the scrum and popped a pass to the "Man of the Match" Dave Neilsen who crashed over for a well taken try, with Dave Ashwood kicking the conversion to close the score to 14 – 13 for the Beach. As they say in darts, "Game On"!

The Aurora Barbarians began to play their normal expansive game, and moved the ball wide, with Steve Shortly and Bryn Keys making an immediate impact on the game. At the 73 minute mark, Steve Shortly made a clean break through and put winger Jeremy Campbell clear for a well taken try in the corner. Dave Ashwood missed a difficult kick, but the Aurora Barbarians moved into the lead 18 – 14, for the first time in the game, with only seven minutes remaining. Balmy Beach is a team that never quits, and the last seven minutes seemed like eternity as the Aurora team took play deep into the Beach end of the field. This was "gut check" time for the Barbs, as the Beach have proved over the years that they will attack from anywhere on the field and last week scored an 80 meter try in the last minute of the game to win their semi-final game! And how well the Barbs defended their narrow 4 point lead, knowing that a Beach 5 point for a try would see the opposition move into a one point lead with time running out!

In the last five minutes the Barbs made a number of critical plays. Damon McLachlan, who had a good game, made one excellent break for 25 meters when he turned the Beach inside out with swerves and cuts, and moved the ball deep into the Beach 22. Simon McEachren, who had come in as a sub for the injured Brock Miller, got through some great plays including a tackle on Beach star Simon Rogers, and a great run up-field. These were the type of plays that the Barbs needed to close out this game.

The final whistle blew amid wild scenes of jubilation by the Aurora Barbarians players, coaches and fans – finally after 51 years the McCormick Cup was home with the Barbs!

This is not a game to single out individual players – this was a total team effort, with every player on the field giving the last ounce of energy, and great bench depth to support the team. A typical cup final, a close game between two very good teams, and a great result for the Aurora Barbarians Rugby club – and the completion of the Cup and League double for an outstanding 2007 season.

The Aurora pack played an outstanding game, grinding out tough yards and gradually wearing the heavier Beach pack down over the first 60 minutes. The front row was, as usual, excellent with Leighton, Rob and Dan having a huge impact on the game through their hard scrimmaging. In the boiler room of the second row, Steve and Brock were huge and did tremendous work in the loose. The back row, Nolan, Shaun and Dave had a simply massive game, covering every inch of the field and getting through an incredible amount of work in both offence and defence. A huge collective thanks to your Barbs 2007 pack.

This was a difficult day for the backs, a slick field and tight Beach defence – but the backs had a great day, with a tough grinding first 60 minutes and an excellent and exciting last 20! A special mention to two 2007 heroes – Ivan had an excellent 40 minutes, doing what we have grown to love over his outstanding career, beating out hard yards and taking the ball into contact to tire the Beach pack - Ivan acted as a battering ram for 40 incredibly hard minutes, a role that was to prove critical in the second half, as the Beach backs faded under the onslaught. Simba was his normal exciting self, full of running and tough tackling, and getting through a tough work load in defence against Simon Rogers and Jesse. In the last 20 minutes the Barbs backs dominated the Beach. Rob Ashwood had a good game at #9, putting in some key kicks to clear the Barbs line, and giving excellent service to his backs – Rob is never better than when he is playing tough rugby and his opposite #9, Glenn Miller, tried to pressure Rob all game long, but Rob was having a good 80 minutes, and did not make any mistakes under this pressure.

Dave Ashwood played well and settled down after a difficult start – his goal kicking was good, (two penalties and a conversion), and his defensive work was very strong. Dave’s direction for the backs in the last 20 minutes was brilliant as he got the line moving and was a constant threat to make the half break. This has been the great comeback story for 2007, as Dave resurrected his excellent career after that serious injury three seasons ago. Jeremy Campbell was exciting, industrious and a continual threat to break the big run and he scored a well taken try to put Aurora Barbs into the lead, a great climax to a wonderful rookie season. Marco did a huge amount of work in this game, and showed the type of inspirational leadership that has been so important to the club over the last 15 years – today it was primarily amazing defence, but Deej also made a couple of great attacking runs and forced the tiring Beach defence to make some tough tackles of their own to stop him breaking the "big one".

The two "super subs", Bryn Keys and Steve Shortly proved for the second week running that impact subs off the bench have a huge role to play in modern rugby. Both are tremendous players and turned this game on its head in the final 20 minutes. One had a sense that the Beach would not relish the prospect of tackling these two hard running and athletic centres after the battering that they took from Ivan and Marco in the first 40 minutes! Steve played well and made a couple of important and high impact breaks and gave a beautiful pass to Jeremy for the winning try – Steve’s game has come on hugely since his visit to Australia and he has confirmed just what a great player he will be for the next few years!! Bryn is pure class and does so many small things well – his timing of the pass is exquisite, setting free a player in two paces. He is a constant threat and plays so comfortably off Steve, what an excellent and exciting pairing.

A few final comments about the toughest role in today’s game, namely the role of the players on the substitute bench. This is a club with great depth and this depth is critical if the Barbarians are to continue to play the high quality rugby that they are capable of playing. These are young players who train hard and are eager to make a contribution – their contribution to this win should not be under-stated, for they were ready and capable of playing at a moments notice and make a coach’s job a lot easier when the coach knows the quality of player he has available. I salute Gian Montino, Matt Prevoe, Neil MacDougall, Simon McEachern and Kai Sorensen, in part knowing your desire to get into the game, but recognising that not only did you contribute today, but also that you will play a major role in the future of this club with many more cup and league triumphs to come over the next few years – you are great and important club guys.

It takes two teams to make a great game, pus one ref! To the Beach, to Bruce Gage, their Coach, to Scott Dunham, their Captain, and to all of the proud and excellent Beach players, (including the two ex-Barbs, Jesse and Alasdair!!), to your loyal and vocal fans and ex-players, my congratulations on a great 2007 season and looking forward to continue the great rivalry and truly great rugby between our two clubs – you are a great club, one that hopefully the Aurora Barbarians can one day emulate with your unbelievable depth and club spirit. To today’s referee Derek Stoltz, who had a very good game, best wishes for your continued growth and development as you climb up the hierarchy of referees in Canada.

And so another great season winds down – a Cup and league double to celebrate and re-live over the next few months. A time to relax, put on a few pounds and reflect on all that this club has achieved over the last few years, building so well on our collective heritage and values.

To Drew and Bart, the Barb’s amazing coaching duo, thank you for another season, a season close to perfect, with just one loss!! This shows that you have built a team that thrives on hard work and on playing wonderful, expansive and fast open rugby. This is an entertaining team, fun to watch and exciting by the realisation that there is huge potential and that this team can develop even more in the future. To Laura and Kerry, the role that you both play is critical, and much respected, thank you.

To the loyal fans and great family of the Aurora Barbs, thanks for supporting your team – great years are ahead for your club. We must push down into the club and build the type of club that our friends at the Balmy Beach have been able to build. We have a core of excellent club people, and an exciting Junior Development program from Minis to age group, and this is the key to the future development. We must continue to build strength at the 2nds, 3rds and hopefully like the Beach, into a 4th team – we must build pride and commitment at all level of the club. But this is for the future!

To John Reich, we are part of the way to realising your dream of making the Aurora Barbarians into a wonderful and exciting club where players can spend their entire playing career in one club!! The recruitment of young James Reich as your assistant guarantees succession, not that we are ready for you to move on yet!! James has proven to be a valued part of this team, nearly but not quite as important as JR – John thanks from all of us.

This will not be the last 2007 bulletin from your scribe, as what else would I do? I will be preparing a season summary with some interesting stats and comments so please, stay tuned.

A truly great day for your club, thank you for reading my scratchings over the season – this gives me great pleasure.

All the best

Simon