(VANCOUVER, BC) – Ontario’s junior provincial men’s and women’s sevens teams will be returning home from the National Under-18 Sevens Championships with silverware in hand. Ontario’s two men’s sides earned second and third-place finishes, while the two women’s sides claimed third and fourth-place slots, securing a top-four finish for all four of Ontario’s junior provincial sevens teams at the inaugural tournament in Vancouver.

Ontario’s two junior provincial men’s teams – Junior Blues 1 and Junior Blues 2 – both earned podium finishes at the competition, with the second-place Junior Blues 1 participating in a memorable Cup Final: Saturday’s final between Junior Blues 1 and British Columbia, which saw the host side defeat Ontario 17-5, was played in front of 30,000 fans at iconic BC Place as part of the Canada Sevens festivities. Junior Blues 2 earned the tournament’s bronze honours with a 14-12 victory over Alberta on Friday evening.

Ontario’s two junior provincial women’s sides – Junior Storm 1 and Junior Storm 2 – also fared well at the national competition, with both sides making it through to the Cup semifinals stage to ensure top-four finishes. While Cup Final berths proved elusive, both Ontario sides met in the Bronze Final, with Junior Storm 2 getting by their provincial counterparts to claim a third-place finish.

“Our provincial teams played three days of top-quality, impressive rugby, and having the opportunity to finish our tournament with a match at BC Place made for an unforgettable experience for our athletes and staff,” said Ontario junior provincial sevens program head coach Andrew Hall. “Our provincial program was able to showcase 47 of our athletes at the highest level, and we’re extremely proud of their performance against their fellow provincial teams.”

Taking place in Vancouver from Mar. 10-12, the inaugural National U18 Sevens Championships saw four Ontario provincial sevens teams face competition from other provinces as they vied for national supremacy. The tournament included eight provincial men’s teams and seven provincial women’s teams.

Day One (Mar. 10) Match Recaps: click here.
Day Two (Mar. 11) Match Recaps: click here.

National U18 Sevens Championships Tournament Schedules

U18 Ontario Junior Storm Sevens:

Pool Matches (Mar. 10)
10:00 a.m. PST / 1:00 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 0 v. British Columbia 22
12:20 p.m. PST / 3:20 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 10 v. Ontario 2 22
2:30 p.m. PST / 5:30 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 0 v. British Columbia 20

Cup Matches (Mar. 11)
9:06 a.m. PST / 12:06 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 32 v. Quebec 0 [Cup QF] 9:50 a.m. PST / 12:50 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 24 v. Nova Scotia 0 [Cup QF] 11:18 a.m. PST / 2:18 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 5 v. British Columbia 29 [Cup SF] 12:46 p.m. PST / 3:46 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 5 v. Alberta 17 [Cup SF] 3:30 p.m. PST / 6:30 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 5 v. Ontario 2 22 [Bronze Final]

U18 Ontario Junior Blues Sevens:

Pool Matches (Mar. 10)
10:00 a.m. PST / 1:00 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 35 v. Nova Scotia 14
11:06 a.m. PST / 2:06 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 24 v. Alberta 5
12:42 p.m. PST / 3:42 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 45 v. Quebec 0
1:26 p.m. PST / 4:26 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 20 v. British Columbia 12
2:52 p.m. PST / 5:52 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 45 v. Saskatchewan 0
3:14 p.m. PST / 6:14 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 48 v. Newfoundland 7

Cup Matches (Mar. 11)
8:00 a.m. PST / 11:00 a.m. EST: Ontario 1 29 v. Newfoundland 0 [Cup QF] 9:26 a.m. PST / 12:26 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 43 v. Saskatchewan 0 [Cup QF] 11:40 a.m. PST / 2:40 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 22 v. Alberta 5 [Cup SF] 1:08 p.m. PST / 4:08 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 15 v. British Columbia 31 [Cup SF] 3:52 p.m. PST / 6:52 p.m. EST: Ontario 2 14 v. Alberta 12 [Bronze Final]

Cup Final (Mar. 12)
12:46 p.m PST / 3:46 p.m. EST: Ontario 1 5 v. British Columbia 17 [Cup Final]

National U18 Sevens Championships Tournament Squads

U18 Ontario Junior Storm Sevens:

Ontario 1
Carina Fascinato (Fergus Highland)
Daniella Grant (Aurora Barbarians)
Jasmine Hector (Brampton Beavers)
Sarah Hoerig (Oshawa Vikings)
Aliesha Lewis (Guelph Redcoats)
Mikaela MacDonald (Oshawa Vikings)
Kyra Maybee (Peterborough Pagans)
Rachel McCallan (Ottawa Irish)
Emilie Merilainen (Belleville Bulldogs)
Natasha Naismith (Brampton Beavers)
Bridget Peros (Oakville Crusaders)
Tia Svoboda (Belleville Bulldogs)

Coaches
Ian Fitzgerald
Sonny Raina

Ontario 2
Olivia Apps (Lindsay RFC)
Taylor Black (Oakville Crusaders)
Vyktoria Brochu (Aurora Barbarians)
Khadija Brouillette (Unattached)
Maddi Cohoon (Brantford Harlequins)
Brooklynn Feasby (Oshawa Vikings)
Emma Frey (Oshawa Vikings)
Talia Hoffman (Stoney Creek)
Samantha Jarron (Unattached)
Annie Kennedy (Kingston Panthers)
Michaela Knowles (Waterloo County)
Regan Mahoney (Peterborough Pagans)

Coaches
Rebecca Delaney
Sean Dunleavy

U18 Ontario Junior Blues Sevens:

Ontario 1
Deven Deguara (Aurora Barbarians)
Myles Donoghue (Ottawa Indians)
James Hammond (Toronto Nomads)
Elias Hancock (Bytown Blues)
Chase Harrison (Toronto Buccaneers)
Josh Ho (Markham Irish)
Stephen Kim (Toronto Nomads)
Josiah Morra (Toronto Saracens)
Quenton McLean Lavado (Toronto Scottish)
Avery Oitomen (Oakville Crusaders)
Liam Rose (Brantford Harlequins)

Coaches
Cory Hector
Paul Myers

Ontario 2
Gabriel Casey (Barrhaven Scottish)
Jared Collinson (Balmy Beach)
Jordan Evans (Barrie)
Ethan Hager (Brantford Harlequins)
Nathan Jutronich (Oakville Crusaders)
Owen McLean Lavado (Toronto Scottish)
Jack McRogers (Aurora Barbarians)
Miguel Fabian Palij (Markham Irish)
David Richard (Mississauga Blues)
Owain Ruttan (Cobourg Saxons)
Scott Sedore (Unattached)
Kevin Vertkas (Toronto Nomads)

Coaches
Nigel D’Acre
Andrew Hall

About Rugby Ontario:

Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to promote, govern, and develop rugby at all levels in a safe, affordable and enjoyable environment within the province of Ontario.

There are more than 10,000 Rugby Ontario members registered with 66 rugby clubs located across the province, with participation in age grades ranging from minor (age 6+) to masters (age 35+) in male and female divisions.

For more information, visit http://www.rugbyontario.com/