BARRIE, Ontario — The Georgian Grizzlies men’s rugby team is a win away from an Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championship title.

On Saturday, the team beat the reigning back-to-back champions Durham Lords to set up a gold medal game against the St. Lawrence Surge in Kingston on Nov. 13.

The Grizzlies clawed their way back after being down 3-19 at halftime.

Benjamin Robinson scored the team’s only points in the first half, connecting on a penalty kick during injury time.

“We were actually playing our game, but we just weren’t executing well,” said John Daggett, the team’s head coach.

Daggett said the team had a good discussion during halftime and came out ready to get back into the game.

“It was animated, let’s put it that way,” Daggett said. “The focus in the end of the discussion was ‘we’re not giving up.’ No matter what, we weren’t giving up.”

Matt Comeau led the Grizzlies back into the game with three tries in the second half.

“We came out, scored a try early and were down in their half for about 85% of the time from there on out,” Daggett said. “That first try was a huge boost to the confidence and the fact we were camped down there for a significant portion of the second half just continued to build our confidence.”

Robinson kicked his third convert of the half to complete the comeback and send them to the gold medal game with a 24-22 win over the Lords.

“There was a lot of emotion for sure,” Daggett said. “We have a lot of good veteran leadership and some mature players so when some of the young guys got fired up, it was good to see the older guys keep everyone calm and relaxed. We want to enjoy that win after Saturday and they will, but the coaches and I spent some time over the weekend reviewing film and looking at things we need to continue to work on.”

The Grizzlies and Surge played once in the regular season. On Oct. 3, the two teams finished in a 12-12 tie.

Daggett said he expects it to be another tight game.

“They’re a good team and are well coached,” he said. “Their field is pretty small and we are used to playing on probably the biggest field in college rugby. We have to be aware of that. There won’t be as much room to work across the field so we will prepare for that.”

Daggett said the players are excited for the challenge.

“The boys set the goal early and this was their goal: to put themselves in a spot to play for a gold medal and they’ve done that,” Daggett said.

Saturday’s gold medal game takes place at the St. Lawrence Kingston campus North Field at 1 p.m.

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