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The 2015-16 season is underway for the McMaster Women’s Rugby team.

After their performance last season, a banner has now found its spot on the wall of achievements in the David Braley Athletic Centre acknowledging the hard work of the team. Claiming the program’s first-ever OUA title and an appearance in the national final has given the team a great reputation on campus.

Though the spirits of the team were high going into the first game of the regular season, it ended in a 15-14 loss for the Marauders against the Queen’s Gaels in Kingston. Late penalty trouble spoiled the chances for the team to head back to Hamilton with a win.

When both teams met last year, the Marauders won by a single point over the Gaels.

“The whole team was very confident. We came off of a really good season being second in Canada. Our game plan was to play hard and be connected on defense,” said Colleen Irowa, a third-year player.

Looking forward, Head Coach Shaun Allen recognizes that improvements need to be made.

“We let ourselves down with too many fundamental errors and too many penalties. We need to build more width and depth in our attack so that we can go harder at the defensive line and create space.”

The Marauders are currently ranked fourth in the CIS Top 10 ranking.

With practices five days a week, this team is hungry for another OUA title and another chance to play on the national stage.

“We are going to go to nationals,” Irowa stated confidently.

Time will be the deciding factor, but one loss at the beginning of the season is not telling of the future.

This team has shown that they are competitors with the success they had last season and are looking for a similar storyline this year.

“Our hope is that we can establish a style of play that is overwhelming for our opponents and can allow our players to express themselves on both attack and defense,” said Allen.

The team will hope to shake off their first loss as they continue play on the road this coming weekend, facing the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, Sept. 19.

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Football -- McMaster 28, Queen's 19

The football team remains undefeated in a 28-19 win over Queen’s in front of a sellout crowd. Quarterback Marshall Ferguson spread the ball to eight different receivers to toss 376 total yards with two touchdowns. Chris Pezzetta also tallied a solid 154 yards rushing. Kicker Tyler Crapigna hit a 41-yarder to give him 76 all-time, and is just one below the record set by Western’s Lirim Hajrullahu for OUA’s all-time career leader in field goals. Sherbrooke’s William Dion holds the CIS record with 82 career field goals. The Marauders travel next to Western in a battle of undefeated teams.

Soccer -- Men's: McMaster 1, Guelph 2; Women's: McMaster 1, Guelph 1

Both men’s and women’s soccer went to Guelph. The men suffered their first loss on Saturday in a 2-1 effort as Mark Reilly scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season with the hope of a comeback in the 77th minute. Sunday’s game at McMaster fared much better in a 3-1 victory over Waterloo with a convincing second half with goals at the 65th, 79th, and 80th minute marks. They slip to third with a 6-1-2 record in the West OUA division.

The women lost the lead late in a 1-1 draw with midfielder Maureen Mai having an unrelenting offensive attack with the team’s lone goal, and five shots with three of those on target. A 74th-minute strike by Guelph resulted in the draw. The return back to McMaster did not fare better as the team was not able to complete the comeback, losing 4-3 to Waterloo. An explosive start to the second half to put Waterloo up 4-1 was nearly nullified with two late-game goals, but it was too little, too late. They slip to sixth with a 3-5-1 record, and travel with the men’s team to face Brock next.

Rugby -- Men's: McMaster 18, Queen's 13; Women: 27, Queen's 27

Men’s rugby improved to 5-0 while handing Queen’s their first loss of the season in an 18-13 game. The team was able to respond quickly to offensive pressure in an extremely back-and-forth effort by both teams. With their 18 points, the Marauders surpassed the total of 17 that Queen’s had conceded through their first four games of the season. McMaster travels to face Brock next.

Women’s rugby gave up a 17-point lead to draw against Guelph 27-27. With McMaster captain Cindy Nelles in the penalty box, Guelph capitalized with two tries and one hit convert to make it 27-22. In the dying moments of the game, Guelph made the try, but the potentially game-winning convert hit the upright and bounced wide. The team faces Toronto next at McMaster’s Back Ten field.

After being rained out of their first game of the season, the Marauders women’s rugby team is still looking for their opportunity to show off the hard work they have been putting in over the summer.

In their first game against Trent University, they got to play for 21 minutes before the first strike of lightning hit.

The Marauders were up on Trent with a score of 24-3, scoring four tries in the first 20 minutes.

Although the OUA is still determining the final result of this game, the Marauders proved their dominant skill early on in the match.

Their success in their first showing of the season resulted from the hard work the Marauders put into training camp the week before, and the emphasis they have put on their fitness training throughout the winter.

“Our players from the end of last season to this year completely dedicated themselves through strength and conditioning, their prep coming into this season was phenomenal,” said Allen.

“We keep the historical fitness testing standards, and we had a bunch of records broken this year in camp, so the biggest improvement of the team is the bulk of the team has gotten a year older, a year stronger, and a year fitter, and they played some good rugby,” added Allen.

Over the summer, four players represented the senior women’s provincial team, four players represented the Canadian U-20 team, three players represented the Olympic Games U-18 national team, and Captain Cindy Nelles went to the World Cup as a replacement player.

Along with all of the hard work the other players have been putting in to their training, the Marauders have a very skilled and determined roster this year. It is also one of the biggest rosters in the OUA, made up of 37 players.

“Everyone that was invited to that training camp is still on our roster so we haven’t really made cuts at this point. There are some girls that are much more developmental. They won’t play in the OUA this year,” said Allen.

The final roster that Allen will be submitting to the OUA will have 34 athletes.

Allen himself is new to the team, having taken helm of the program in January 2014.

The rookies on the team are also making a swift transition into their first year, creating bonds with one another that were established during training camp.

“The camaraderie amongst our team is fantastic. Our upper year players have been very open to all of the first year players; it’s been very good over the last couple of weeks because we’ve been training so much and the girls have been around each other so much, so they’ve started to create those bonds,” said Allen.

The large contingent of first years has the Marauders excited for the future of the team, as the majority of them will not be competing, but rather working over the year to make the starting line-up in upcoming seasons.

With such a big roster, Allen has some decisions to make on who he will be bringing to each away game.

“We have quite a few first years this year, so when they improve their strength and conditioning they can come in next year or the year after,” said Allen.

For each game, the Marauders will be selecting 22 athletes, made up of 15 starters and seven subs.

The team will continue to train hard throughout the next week before they take on the No. 1 OUA ranked team, the Queen’s Gaels at the Back Ten Field this Sunday, Sept. 14.

The kick off will be at 1 p.m.

Maggie Cogger-Orr

After getting their first win of the season the weekend before, the Marauders were back in action on Sept. 22, travelling to St. Catharines to take on the undefeated Brock Badgers.

McMaster entered the game hoping to build on their momentum after dominating the large, physical RMC Paladins team.
The momentum transferred right from the first kickoff with a big hit by rookie flanker Max Catterson, putting the Badgers on their back feet from the start.

This opening pressure would eventually be converted into a try as the Marauder pack that has come into their own in the past few weeks used their lineout mauling to roll over Brock and to give third-year 8-man Cam Stones his first try of 2012. Scrum half Andrew Ferguson would kick the convert to give McMaster the early 7-0 lead.

The Marauders were unable to sustain this level of momentum, and within a few minutes, Brock’s Zack Lamacraft would add a penalty goal.

The Badgers would use some effective pick and go work by their forwards to have Ben Harmer touch down for a try, which Lamacraft would then convert.

Penalty woes would continue to be a slight issue for the men in Maroon, as twenty minutes through the first half, Lamacraft would be able to capitalize by adding another three points to the Badgers’ lead.

Brock would continue to hammer away at the McMaster defence, with their forwards continuing to pick and go and eventually having Reece Hummel pummel his way over the try line to bring the lead to 18-7.

The Marauders would fight their way back into the Brock red zone, and after the Badgers took several penalties, the team’s only fifth-year, Evan Smith, would cut against the grain to score McMaster’s second of the game, which Ferguson would convert to end the half down 18-14.

The Marauders would start the second half much like they started the first, coming out of the gates firing and eager to get back on the scoreboard.

They would achieve this three minutes into the half with some excellent line running by outside centre Davor Stojanov, who scored for second week in a row off a pass from rookie fly half Graham Dobbs. With Ferguson adding the extra two, the men in maroon would jump to a 21-18 lead.

Just when it seemed as though the Badgers might be able to limit Ferguson’s contribution to the scoreboard to a few conversions, the crafty scrum half split the Brock defence and beat the fullback to score his fifth try of the season.
Ferguson now not only leads the league in overall points with 54, but is also the leading try scorer.

The Badgers would not go quietly, though, as they conjured up some sustained pressure in the ensuing minutes and would finally score, with Lamacraft converting it to bring the score to a nail-biting 26-25 for the Marauders.

The last ten minutes of the game would see the McMaster defence go into lockdown. They were able to stop Brock’s pick-and-go game with some great post defence and with the backs, specifically inside centre Craig Leveridge.

The pressure would eventually lead to Brock throwing a forward pass, which would be the final play of the game, sealing the Marauders’ second win of the year.

With their record back to .500 and momentum starting to build behind them, McMaster moves into a tie with Waterloo for fourth place in the OUA with 10 points.

Their next game sees them take on the last-place Laurier Golden Hawks this Friday in Waterloo.
In spite of their lowly status, the Marauders know not to underestimate Laurier, who, in years past, has always risen to the occasion.
With several backs, including Leveridge and Chad Strapp, out with injury, Australian Joey Ross will likely slide into the fly half position with Dobbs making his way into the centres.

The Marauders will miss Leveridge’s hardnosed defence, but expect to see some creative things on offence coming from the new fly half-centre combination.

The 2012-2013 season is shaping up to be a memorable one for Marauders fans.

McMaster is looking to repeat upon last year’s successful campaign, which included Mac’s first ever Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) football championship, the Vanier Cup, an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship from the men’s soccer team, an OUA championship appearance from women’s rugby and a young men’s basketball team that reached the OUA Final Four.

The football season begins on Sept. 3, kicking off at Ron Joyce Stadium as the Marauders look to defend their championship. There will be some familiar faces in this year’s title run, with the reigning OUA Most Valuable Player Michael DiCroce returning at the wide receiver position.

Kyle Quinlan will be back under centre for the Maroon and Grey and look to top his 2011 season, which included the Most Valuable Player award in both the OUA and CIS championships.

Linebackers Nick Shorthill and Aram Eisho are also returning, and expectations are high for both players after successful rookie campaigns.

The fall athletics season will also see the women’s rugby team look to build off an amazing 2011 season. After going undefeated in conference play, the squad lost in the OUA finals to the University of Guelph Gryphons. Despite the loss, the team qualified for the CIS championships. The women’s team is poised to contend again for the OUA championship and looks to bring the 2012 banner to the David Braley Athletic Centre.

The men’s soccer team will be back on the field Sept. 5 at the University of Waterloo to defend their championship. The home opener for the men’s team will be on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 3:15 p.m., as the Marauders take on the University of Windsor Lancers.

Returning to lead the McMaster attack is forward Gersi Xhuti, who won OUA Rookie of the Year in 2011. The outlook is optimistic for the team, which includes a number of other returning key players.

With winter comes the return of basketball and a young men’s team looking to establish themselves as a force for coming years in the OUA. After a surprisingly successful season last year, Marauders fans can expect another playoff run and possibly a shot at the Wilson Cup.

The team will feature reigning OUA Rookie of the Year Adam Presutti at the point while rookie Rohan Boney aims to use his athleticism to aid the Marauders’ fast-paced offence. This season could see the return of the Maroon and Grey to the CIS championship tournament, a level of competition the Marauders have not reached since 2006.

The Silhouette will be there every step of the way this athletic season, following all of the student athletes’ journeys to bring championship glory to the Mac campus.

 

Maggie Cogger-Orr
Silhouette Staff

 

 

 

After a gruelling two days competing at the CIS sevens tournament held in British Columbia, most of the McMaster Men’s Rugby team returned back to Hamilton – all except for sophomores Andrew Ferguson and Cam Stones who shifted their focus to the U-20 National Team.

 

The two left the tournament to go train with the U20 Team as they prepared for two test matches against both the Romanian National Team and its U-20 variation. A big challenge for both players was transitioning back to the fifteens game – a game of 80 minutes – from the 7s version – a game of a mere 14 minutes.

 

“I'd have to say the biggest challenge was the time change from seven minute halves to 40 minute halves,” said Stones. “Even though the halves in sevens are so much shorter, I still felt more prepared to play a 40 minute half. It really says something about the fitness level of the guys that play on the sevens circuit.”

 

Both Ferguson and Stones were selected to start the first game against the Romanian Senior National Team, which, although they would lose 30-22, presented a great opportunity for both players to compare themselves to senior players of international calibre. Stones was also selected to start the second match, which the team would also lose 23-6. Although the results on the scoreboard were not the most desirable, the overall experience was a positive one for Stones.

 

“I really enjoyed training sessions and getting to know the guys that are new to the team” said Stones when asked what the best part of his experience was.

 

“The new facilities in Langford are also incredible and it was really cool to see an entire stadium, gym and office building dedicated to rugby. The Saturday night game in Langford brought a lot of support from the BC rugby community which you don't get to the same level here Ontario.”

 

With only two years of varsity rugby under their belts, Stones credits the McMaster rugby program with helping him develop into the player he is today.

 

“Before coming to Mac, I hadn't had the exposure to national level players like there are here. There were quite a few guys on the team that had represented Canada at the U20 level. Coach Phil White really does a great job of attracting players and developing them into national level athletes,” said Stones.

 

He also is quick to acknowledge 2010 OUA Coach of the Year Shaun Allen, who was his coach in his rookie season.

 

“Shaun also played a huge part in my first year getting me ready for the U-20 Canada tryouts and pushing me to get to that level,” said Stones.

 

When asked about how playing against OUA powerhouses has helped him adjust to higher calibre rugby, Stones indicated that Ontario’s varsity athletes stacked up well with their international counterparts.

 

“The size of the guys in the OUA is really underappreciated,” said Stones. “I'd say some of the guys in this league are much bigger than international teams I’ve played.”

 

With two years at least left in his time here at McMaster, Stones has a lot on his mind when it comes to goals for himself; which in true student athlete fashion, don’t solely revolve around his time at the Back 10 fields.

 

“School wise, I'm majoring in Political Science with a minor in French, and if all goes well some grad work too,” said Stones. “Hopefully I won't stray too far from Hamilton in years to come and I'll be able to give back to the McMaster program like many of the veterans do.

 

“We're really fortunate that the alumni give so much time into developing the program, and we even get the benefit of having ex-players come back to coach who have been to World Cups.”

 

In terms of rugby, the biggest question for Stones is whether he will focus his time in fifteens, the traditional Canadian rugby game which he plays at McMaster, or sevens, which has recently been included in the Olympics.

 

When asked where he planned to focus, Stones noted that the more traditional fifteens game would be his mainstay for now.

 

“I haven't played the game of sevens as much as I would like and it's something I hope I have the chance to represent Canada in,” said Stones. “Sevens is now an Olympic sport and will be in the 2016 Olympics. That's certainly something I'd love to be considered for. But for now, 15s is where most of my time is being dedicated.”

 

With the 2011 season ending with a disappointing fourth place finish, the program is coming to a crossroads of sorts with a new generation of players, such as Ferguson and Stones, stepping into the shoes of heroes past such as Shaun Windsor and Keegan Selby.

 

When asked about his thoughts on the fourth place finish, Stones acknowledged that the team was looking to improve.

 

“I agree that it wasn't the result we wanted,” said Stones. “Going from first to fourth wasn't what we set out to do. The program is full of guys who are top quality players, and I think if we can continue to mould together, there is a great core group of guys that in my opinion have the ability to win another OUA title.

 

“We have a few guys returning next year, some didn't play this year, and that's going to be a huge boost in our favour. This season past does not reflect the program’s potential at all.”

 

Both Stones and Ferguson will look to continue to be a part of the U-20 program throughout this season, and hopefully eventually compete in the Junior World Trophy this June in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is easy to say though, the more experience both these players have at a higher level, the brighter the future looks for McMaster rugby.

 

Rookie Marauder Cindy Nelles achieved about as much as one could hope in a freshman season. She racked up 99 total points in her first campaign in Maroon and Grey, and was subsequently named as the OUAs Rookie of the Year as a result. Sil Sports’ Maggie Cogger-Orr catches up with the rookie to discuss rugby, video games and dance moves.

 

 

 

Maggie Cogger-Orr:  What made you decide to come to McMaster?
Cindy Nelles: Mainly because it had the program I was interested in (Engineering) and a great rugby program. The facilities also were a big part of what drew me in. Also seemed like the place I would fit in the best. It was the place to be.

 

 

 

MC-O: Obviously you’re only in first year but what so far has been your favourite rugby memory at Mac?
CN: Probably training camp. A bunch of things stick out, ranging from meeting all the other rookies to dropping a weight on my toe in the first two days and having my coach think I was completely stupid. The trip to CIS nationals with the whole team was also a great time.

 

 

 

MC-O: Do you have any pre-match rituals?
CN: I mostly just try to do the same thing I do every morning, eat my regular bowl of cereal. I also like to be by myself for a bit before a game, thinking about game goals.

 

 

 

MC-O: Who’s your favourite international rugby team to cheer for (other than Canada)?
CN: I guess England for the women’s game, I really like watching Maggie Alphonsi [England’s open side flanker] play. For men’s rugby I don’t really have a favourite, I just like watching quality rugby, although I guess I was cheering for New Zealand during this year’s World Cup.

 

 

 

MC-O: Do your teammates have a nickname for you?
CN: One of the vets started calling me Snelles (pronounced snell-es) which is basically just my first initial and my name...I don’t really know how it started. I’m also called ‘greyhound puppy’ by one of our captains along with Tash [Natasha Turner] because we’re both tall and lanky and tend to goof around together and wrestle.

 

 

 

MC-O:  Do you have any pet peeves?
CN: When people sit around you in a lecture and they start speaking to each other in a language other than English and they operate as though they can’t be heard just because they are speaking another language. When people can clearly hear them! Or people who play Tetris in class on their laptops ahead of me. I have Tetris A.D.D. and I get so distracted.

 

 

 

MC-O: What’s your perfect Subway sandwich?
CN: Ham sub on brown bread, with lettuce, cucumbers, pickles, green peppers and mustard.

MC-O:  If you could only have one video game to play for the rest of your life what would it be?
CN: I feel like I’d have to go with Tetris.

 

MC-O: That doesn’t really count. I mean like Nintendo or Playstation.
CN: Oh okay. Definitely Super Smash Brothers then. Only for the Nintendo 64 though.

 

 

 

MC-O:  What’s the top played song on your iPod lately?
CN: Well I don’t actually own an iPod but the songs I’ve been listening to a lot lately are probably ‘Take Care’ by Drake or ‘Starship’ by Nicki Minaj.

 

 

 

MC-O: What’s your favourite pump up song for before a game?
CN: I don’t really listen to a whole lot of music before games but if I do, it’s got to be Eminem.

 

 

 

MCO: What’s your favourite type of drink?
CN: Chocolate Milk

MC-O: When you were in elementary school what did you want to be when you grew up?
CN: I wanted to be a vet since I was in kindergarten, but then I realized you had to spend all day with sick animals and I reconsidered.

 

 

 

MC-O:  If you were a dance move what would you be? Like the running man or the sprinkler.
CN: The awkward white girl dance.

 

MC-O: How would you describe that to our readers?
CN: Basically it’s awkwardly swaying to the music with various hand movements and clapping.

 

 

 

MC-O:  What was the last book you read (for non academic purposes)?
CN: Over Christmas I read Paper Towns, which was pretty good. In the near future though, I really want to jump on the Hunger Games bandwagon and read those books.

 

 

 

MC-O: If you could have any super power what would it be?
CN: That’s so easy. Teleportation obviously!

MC-O:  What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?
CN: It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get up. And that if you keep working eventually you’ll get what you want.

Ben Orr

Silhouette Staff

The Marauders’ perfect record did not survive their trip to Guelph, but their season itself is far from over.

Losing for the first time this season, the McMaster women's rugby team fell to the Guelph Gryphons 36-5 in the OUA Championship on Oct. 29.

Played on the Saturday night at Varsity Field, the game marked the toughest test the dominant Gryphons have faced all season. By reaching the final, both teams had already claimed their place at the CIS tournament, to be held in Peterborough on November 3-6.

The Marauders came into the match with a 7-0 record, having earned a CIS tournament berth by defeating the Brock Badgers in the OUA semifinal. It will be the program’s first appearance on the national stage since the tournament’s inception in 1998.

OUA All-Star Natasha Turner scored the lone try for the Maroon and Grey on the day, as the Gryphon's attack proved to be too strong to be denied for long. After pinning Guelph in their end early, the Marauders were unable to capitalize on a cold night that saw numerous ball-handling errors.

The Gryphons were able to turn defence into offence, and the second-ranked team in the nation did not look back. The title is the Gryphons fourth in a row and 11th since it was first contested in 1994.

Both teams will venture to Peterborough this weekend to compete at the CIS Championships.  The Trent Excalibur, who were knocked out of the OUA playoffs early by the Queen's Gaels, will also compete as hosts, giving the province three representatives at the tournament.

Rounding out the competition are the top-ranked St. Francis Xavier X-Women (the AUS champions), the Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ champions) and the Lethbridge Pronghorns (Canada West champions).

The X-Women have been ranked first in the nation all season long, and defeated Acadia 60-0 in the Atlantic final for their 14th straight conference title.  Lethbridge also enjoyed a dominant undefeated season, culminating with a 41-0 shutout of Alberta in the title match. The title was their sixth in a row.

Laval is yet another undefeated champion heading to Ontario, having beaten Concordia 43-27 in the RSEQ final.

Trent is hosting the tournament for the second year in a row, and will look to improve on their 0-3 mark posted last year.

St. Francis Xavier will be looking to defend their 2010 title, and earn their third overall. Lethbridge looks to return to the winner’s circle after winning three titles in a row, from 2007 to 2009.

Pool A will consist of St. FX, Trent and Lethbridge, while McMaster, Laval and Guelph will play in Pool B. This setup guarantees a rematch of the OUA final between the Marauders and Gryphons.

The fifth place, bronze medal and gold medal games will be played on Nov. 6. Matches will be live-streamed on SSN Canada.

Ben Orr

Silhouette Staff

For the first time, the McMaster women’s rugby will play in the CIS Championships.

After earning a semi-final victory last weekend, Mac has earned a spot in the OUA final and clinching a berth in at nationals for the first time in the program’s history.

They’ll face powerhouse Guelph, the only other undefeated team on the year, on Saturday for the title.

Mac’s historic victory is thanks to a 31-10 victory over the Badgers at Back Ten Field on Oct. 22, a comprehensive win that saw a balanced performance from McMaster prove too much for the overmatched Badgers.

Facing better conditions when compared to last week's rainy and cold match, the teams traded possession for the first ten minutes, with the Badgers surprising the heavily favoured Marauders with strong ball play.

The Maroon and Grey offence was not to be denied for long though, as Natasha Turner broke numerous tackles on her way to a try, with rookie Cindy Nelles kicking the convert. The Marauder women soon settled into a rhythm, pushing play consistently into Brock territory.

After a Nelles penalty kick, Turner scampered for her second try of the day. Yet another successful convert from Nelles meant that Mac would take a comfortable 17-0 lead into the half.

The second half saw much of the same for the Marauders. Turner would score her third try of the match off a throw-in, and Claire Lockhart would cap off the day with a try of her own, thanks to a brilliant run from Alex Fairgreive. Nelles would finish a perfect four for four kicking converts.

While the game finished comfortably for the home side, it took some time for the team to kick into high gear. Following the win, coach Cam Mitchell spoke about his team’s slow start and their resilience.

“I think that we played very well. Our first ten minutes was a bit rough, they came and stole a lot of balls on contact, so it took us a while to adjust,” said Mitchell. “I was very proud of what the girls did after ten minutes.”

Lockhart would also draw praise from her coach for her tackling on the day, which saw the Marauders earn another playoff shutout, after blanking Toronto the previous week. The coach discussed his team's recent defensive success.

“We've played the exact same system all year,” he explained. “We've always had good tackling, it's just that the system's come together and things have tightened up, so if one person misses a tackle we're there to help them now.”

Indeed, the Marauders have been using the same system all year, a system that has been spearheaded by captain Maggie Cogger-Orr. Mitchell spoke to the importance the third year fly half has had.

“Maggie basically holds everything together,” said the coach of his captain. “She makes all the decisions out there, she calls the plays, basically I help develop the system but on the field I try and shut up and let her run things and she does a very good job.”

The Marauder offence was led by the usual suspects, including Turner, Kim Ngai and Nelles. The coach applauded their performance, noting the impact the players have had.

“It's huge because it makes simple plays work very well,” said Mitchell. “We don't run too much fancy stuff, we just stack our athletes against their athletes, and I think we have a pretty favourable comparison.”

As the match ended, many Marauder veterans were visibly emotional as they realized it would be their last match on Back Ten Field. However, there is still rugby to be played, as the team has booked a date with the four-time defending OUA champion Guelph Gryphons.

The Gryphons hosted Queen's in the other semifinal, and in a form true to their season-long dominance, Guelph shut out the Gaels 50-0. Queen's simply had no answer for the attack and defensive strength of the Gryphons, who showed why they have owned the OUA and were ranked second in the nation after the regular season.

A McMaster-Guelph final has long seemed inevitable, with both teams running the table in the regular season. Fans of OUA rugby will undoubtedly be watching the two best teams in the province battle for supremacy, with two unbeaten teams going head-to-head.

The match will be played at Guelph's Varsity Field on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m.

Coach Mitchell explained his strategy for taking on such a daunting opponent in one word.

“Pressure. They are a very good offensive team, they put up a lot of points. We just want to put them under pressure, make them make mistakes and see how they are in a game against a more evenly matched team,” the coach explained.

While the semi-final win guarantees a historic berth at Nationals, Mitchell said his team is focused on the OUA title game first and foremost.

“We're looking at the OUA Championship first, and we'll worry about Nationals next week,” he said.

For those interested in being on hand for the OUA final, a fan bus will be travelling to Guelph on Oct. 29, under the direction of McMaster’s Department of Athletics and Recreation. Tickets for the trip are $5.