June 1, 2022
OUA announces women's and men's rugby schedules for the 2022 season
Burlington, Ont. - Student-athletes are poised for a return to the pitch, with the upcoming 2022 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's and men's rugby seasons getting underway on September 3rd and September 17th, respectively.
2022 OUA Women's Rugby Schedule | FULL
2022 OUA Men's Rugby Schedule | FULL
Anchored by a new format, teams will kick off the 2022 schedule grouped together in a single division, unlike the previous two-division set-up from years past. Each team will play six games across the six-week regular season, a structure that features a similar non-combatant determination as in OUA football, at which point the top six teams will advance to the three-round postseason.
Among the matchups to watch as part of the launch of the women's slate on September 3rd is a battle between the defending champion Guelph Gryphons and semifinalists from Brock. The runners up, the Queen's Gaels, will open their campaign against the York Lions, while another of the final four teams from a year ago, the McMaster Marauders, will take on the Trent Excalibur. Familiar foes will also go toe-to-toe in the season-opening Battle of Waterloo between the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors, while the Western Mustangs will round out the day's competition with an evening tilt against the Toronto Varsity Blues.
While the men's side will wait a couple of weeks to start their campaign, the selection of season-openers remains just as tantalizing. The defending champion Gryphons will see the Hawks soar into Guelph to start their title defence, while the team they beat in last year's semifinals, the Brock Badgers, will visit Western. The Varsity Blues will round out the hosting duties for the September 17th games when they welcome the Marauders. It will be a Kingston-based clash hitting the pitch the following day, as the RMC Paladins take on the reigning silver medalists from Queen's, while Waterloo and Trent will face-off to cap off the Week 1 lineup.
Fans clamoring for championship rematches between the Gaels and Gryphons, meanwhile, will be treated to those must-see matchups in the penultimate weeks of their respective regular seasons. On the women's side, that means the two teams will tussle on October 1st, while the men's squads will meet on October 15th, with both games taking place at Varsity Field in Guelph.
The final entries of women's and men's play will come in Week 6, with the former wrapping up their regular season on October 8th and the latter closing out their competition on October 23rd.
Quarterfinal action will commence the week following these regular season conclusions (Women's - October 15th; Men's - October 29th), with the top two teams earning a bye and the remaining contenders hitting the pitch to open the playoffs (No. 6 v. No. 3; No. 5 v. No. 4). These opening tilts will set up the semifinals the following week (Women's - October 22nd; Men's - November 5th), leaving then only two teams to compete for championship glory to conclude the conference campaign (Women's - October 29th; Men's - November 12th).
2022 OUA Women's Rugby Schedule | FULL
2022 OUA Men's Rugby Schedule | FULL
Anchored by a new format, teams will kick off the 2022 schedule grouped together in a single division, unlike the previous two-division set-up from years past. Each team will play six games across the six-week regular season, a structure that features a similar non-combatant determination as in OUA football, at which point the top six teams will advance to the three-round postseason.
Among the matchups to watch as part of the launch of the women's slate on September 3rd is a battle between the defending champion Guelph Gryphons and semifinalists from Brock. The runners up, the Queen's Gaels, will open their campaign against the York Lions, while another of the final four teams from a year ago, the McMaster Marauders, will take on the Trent Excalibur. Familiar foes will also go toe-to-toe in the season-opening Battle of Waterloo between the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors, while the Western Mustangs will round out the day's competition with an evening tilt against the Toronto Varsity Blues.
While the men's side will wait a couple of weeks to start their campaign, the selection of season-openers remains just as tantalizing. The defending champion Gryphons will see the Hawks soar into Guelph to start their title defence, while the team they beat in last year's semifinals, the Brock Badgers, will visit Western. The Varsity Blues will round out the hosting duties for the September 17th games when they welcome the Marauders. It will be a Kingston-based clash hitting the pitch the following day, as the RMC Paladins take on the reigning silver medalists from Queen's, while Waterloo and Trent will face-off to cap off the Week 1 lineup.
Fans clamoring for championship rematches between the Gaels and Gryphons, meanwhile, will be treated to those must-see matchups in the penultimate weeks of their respective regular seasons. On the women's side, that means the two teams will tussle on October 1st, while the men's squads will meet on October 15th, with both games taking place at Varsity Field in Guelph.
The final entries of women's and men's play will come in Week 6, with the former wrapping up their regular season on October 8th and the latter closing out their competition on October 23rd.
Quarterfinal action will commence the week following these regular season conclusions (Women's - October 15th; Men's - October 29th), with the top two teams earning a bye and the remaining contenders hitting the pitch to open the playoffs (No. 6 v. No. 3; No. 5 v. No. 4). These opening tilts will set up the semifinals the following week (Women's - October 22nd; Men's - November 5th), leaving then only two teams to compete for championship glory to conclude the conference campaign (Women's - October 29th; Men's - November 12th).
