Durham Lords men’s rugby cap off return season with OCAA championship

The Durham College (DC) men’s rugby team captured the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championship banner on November 17, defeating the Georgian College Grizzlies 21-15.

The provincial banner marks the first in program history as the Durham Lords returned to conference play this season, having last played in the OCAA in 1996.

“At the beginning of the season we didn’t know what to expect, but we had a good group of guys and we just worked really hard all season,” said Lords head coach John Watkins. “It’s only year one but this really bodes well for rugby at DC.”

Breaking away for several strong runs and scoring the Lords second try of the match, John Stewart was also named Lords player of the game during the championship.

“Today was unreal,” said the Sports Business Management student about winning the gold medal. “I was saying to some of the other guys after the game that I’ve never actually won anything in rugby before so this is really special, it’s a huge moment.”

The championship contest between the Durham Lords and Georgian Grizzlies began in favour of DC, but just past halftime Georgian found themselves ahead by one point with 10 minutes remaining. Facing adversity, the Lords battled for possession in the closing minutes, winning the ball back and securing a game-winning try in the 76th minute.

“We definitely exceeded expectations, but it came with hard work,” said Watkins. “Moving forward, hopefully after today, rugby players in the Durham Region will think about coming to DC for our rugby program.”