Early September starts mark rugby’s return for 2023 women’s and men’s seasons
Burlington, Ont. – Familiar foes faced off last on the women’s side, while a powerhouse performer fended off a fresh face on the championship stage for the men, but with the dust long settled on those final fixtures from a year ago, the OUA is pleased to announce the 2023 women’s and men’s rugby schedules.
2023 Women’s Rugby | FULL SCHEDULE
2023 Men’s Rugby | FULL SCHEDULE
The Queen’s Gaels conquered their quest for conference glory a year ago when they took down Guelph for their second women’s rugby banner in three years, and with similar aspirations in mind in 2023, the Tricolour will join their nine fellow OUA combatants on September 2nd when they look to start their latest journey off on the right foot.
To open up their championship defence, the Gaels will hit the road to battle Trent, Western will head to McMaster, Wilfrid Laurier will visit Toronto, Waterloo will welcome Guelph, and in a semifinal rematch from a year ago, the Gryphons will host Brock.
While a pair of women’s semifinalists will matchup in Week 1, it is a 2022 championship rematch that highlights the debuts to follow for the men, as they kick off their campaign a week later on September 9th. In search of their first Turner Trophy a year ago, the Golden Hawks couldn’t get past the final hurdle therein, falling to Guelph in the OUA title game, but with an opening week rematch lined up, a shot at redemption won’t have to wait long.
Trent and Western, the latter coming off a season that saw them seeded second heading into the playoffs, will also help to open up the men’s season on the 9th, while fellow semifinalists from Queen’s will see their squad suit up the following day against Waterloo. The opening week’s final game will mark the first OUA contest for the York Lions, who enter as the conference’s 11th squad this season. Their first efforts on the pitch will come on the road against the Marauders, before making their home debut two weeks later (September 23rd) against Brock.
Another noteworthy game taking place on the 23rd comes on the women’s side, as the perennial powers and consistent championship combatants – Queen’s and Guelph – will renew their rivalry in a Week 4 tilt in Kingston. The two have been the last teams standing for five years running, and while Queen’s won the regular season and championship meetings in 2022, both sides will have victory on their minds heading into the back half of their respective regular seasons.
The pre-playoff portion of the schedule for all of the year’s women’s squads will wrap up just two weeks later ahead of Thanksgiving weekend, with a battle between Toronto and Western headlining the final Week 6 games. The men’s contingent, meanwhile, will cross the regular season finish line two weeks later on October 21st, a four-game Week 7 slate that features a semifinal rematch between Guelph and Western.
While the path to the playoffs looks slightly different, the postseason picture will set up exactly the same for both the women and men. The top two regular season teams will earn a bye into the semifinals, while the remaining squads (No. 6 v. No. 3; No. 5 v. No. 4) battle for their respective spots therein. For the women, those quarterfinal games will take place on October 14th, while the men will take the field on October 28th.
The final four squads will each then take their turn at punching their ticket to the championship game one week later (W = October 21st; M = November 4th), with the victors earning a chance to surmount the banner season stage at the home of their higher-ranked squad.
The OUA Women’s Rugby Championship will be decided on Saturday, October 28th, while the OUA Men’s Rugby Championship will be played on Saturday, November 11th.
