Rugby

Rugby football in Ontario goes back to the 1870s. In those early days it was really a university sport. Until 1903 teams in the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) played rugby union football rules. In 1903 the ORFU adopted the “Burnside Rules” (Google it). These rules created a football game much like the game played today in the CFL and NFL. By 1929 the British Rugby Union of Ontario had 8 clubs around Toronto and Hamilton. In November 1929 Quebec beat Ontario in an inter-provincial game.

During the 1930s the number of Ontario rugby clubs more than doubled. That growth was dulled during the war years. Following a very successful recruitment drive a meeting in September 1950 saw the start of a new Ontario rugby league. Through the 1950s clubs formed across Ontario including Peterborough, Kingston & Oshawa. By the early 1960s there were Western, Northern & Central divisions. In 1979 the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union joined the Ontario Rugby Union. By the early 2000s there were 4 Unions: Eastern Ontario Rugby Union, Niagara Rugby Union, Toronto Rugby Union and Southwest Rugby Union.

Rugby is a fairly recent addition to Cobourg sports. Rugby first made its appearance in the Cobourg area in 1985. Rodger Harp, then the head of Physical Education at CDCI East convinced a rugby playing teacher by the name of Bob Richards to organize a rugby team at the school. The following year Tom Jackson followed suit starting a boy’s rugby team across town at CDCI West.

Typical of many other high school sports in the area, a great cross-town rivalry developed between the two rugby programs. Many years later it would be this cross-town high school rugby rivalry that would be the spark needed to create the Cobourg Saxons Rugby Football Club. In 1992 St. Mary’s Secondary School would add a boy’s rugby program under the direction of Rob Majdell and Ray Heffernan.

Rugby was viewed traditionally as a sport for boys and men. Although the sport traces its roots back to 1845, it wasn’t until the late 1970s that Canada would begin to see its first women’s rugby teams. During the late 80s and early 90s there was slow but steady growth in women’s rugby in Ontario.

During the mid 1990s, girl’s rugby surfaced in Cobourg high schools thanks the courage of a couple of female students at CDCI West and St. Mary’s Secondary school. During this time Don Thompson was coaching both the senior and junior boys’ teams at the West. Don was fortunate to have an enthusiastic student, Laura Stevenson, volunteer as team manager for the boy’s program. In 1993 Laura persuaded Coach Thompson to start a girl’s rugby team and thus began girl’s rugby in Cobourg.

Across town a feisty young student named Kirsten Gallagher, worked her way onto the St. Mary’s varsity boy’s rugby team! St. Mary’s teacher Mike Killoran, also a rugby player, was so impressed with Kirsten’s guts and determination that he was inspired to start a St. Mary’s girl’s rugby team for the 1994 season. Two years later Bob Richards would help develop a girl’s rugby program at CDCI East.

Up until this point rugby was only played locally at high schools. A few Cobourg natives had gone on to play rugby at university and college. Many of these players were looking to play rugby in the summer to remain competitive when they returned to their respective post-secondary schools. However, without a local rugby club they were forced to travel to Oshawa, Ajax or Peterborough; or give up summer rugby altogether.

Two of those young players, Mike McMahon and Scott Jenkins would return to their old high school eager to help out Coaches Don Thompson and Bob Cairns with the rugby program at CDCI West. With the help of McMahon and Jenkins, Coach Thompson started what would turn out to be an annual event, the West Vikings Alumni Game. The Alumni game saw the Senior Vikings players take on Vikings Alumni in a friendly match. In years to come this annual event would prove to be an important catalyst for the Saxons…but more about that later.

1993 had two significant events as far as Cobourg rugby history is concerned. St. Mary’s Secondary School would start their rugby program under the direction of Rob Majdell and Ray Heffernan. Meanwhile Chris Hawley and Bob Richards would form a boy’s junior rugby team and enter it in the Toronto Rugby Union (TRU). The team was aptly named the Cobourg Ghosts after the famously successful local gridiron team of the 1940s and 50s.

Jenkins and McMahon both now playing rugby with Oshawa Vikings would offer help when they could and Don Thompson would come out to the occasional practice too. The team competed in the TRU for two seasons and then, for whatever reasons, was abandoned.

It was 1996 when Dina Davis, Steve Barlow and Bob Richards established a women’s rugby team--the Cobourg Crash. Dina had been playing rugby on a very competitive Ajax Wanderers women’s rugby team while Bob was also playing men’s rugby with the Wanderers. Steve Barlow had cut his rugby teeth at CDCI West and would go on to play rugby in college.

Girl’s rugby at all three high schools had become quite competitive and there was a good base of players on which to draw from. The Cobourg Crash continued until, in 1999, it amalgamated with the recently formed Cobourg Saxons Rugby Football Club.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Alumni games that Thompson, Jenkins and McMahon would organize yearly were becoming a much looked forward to event-- as much for the friendly competition as for the social afterwards. At these socials McMahon and Jenkins would encourage others to follow them to Oshawa to play summer rugby with the Vikings. As these numbers grew over the years, talk on the car rides home naturally led to the idea of starting a club in Cobourg.

By this time McMahon and Jenkins had found themselves on the executive of the Oshawa Vikings and were getting a good appreciation of how a rugby club operates. And of course Bob Richards was always eager to discuss the future of club rugby in Cobourg.

McMahon began discussions with the Toronto Rugby Union to explore the option of forming a men’s rugby club in Cobourg. The idea was gaining momentum but if they were to start a rugby club they would first need to determine if there was enough interested players. In late spring of 1997 McMahon and Richards organized a rugby match between the alumni of CDCI East and CDCI West.

The event was well attended by players and spectators alike. From the numbers of players involved, and the spectator turnout it was obvious that Cobourg could sustain a rugby club. A large social at Kelly’s Homelike Inn followed the match and it was there that McMahon made the announcement that he had started the process of establishing a Men’s Rugby Club in Cobourg.

On December 22, 1997, the first General Meeting of the Cobourg Saxons Rugby Football Club was held in the dining room of Kelly’s Homelike Inn. The executive included Mike McMahon (president), Bob Richards (coach), Aaron Allen (fixtures secretary), Scott Jenkins (treasurer), and Betty-Lynn Bird (secretary).

Not wanting to turn any players away from the club, it was decided that the Saxons would enter two men’s teams in their inaugural season. The executive of the Toronto Rugby Union was sceptical that the small town and new rugby club could sustain two men’s teams, but they eventually relented to the rare request.

To say the Saxons’ first season was a success is an understatement. The Saxons 1^st XV would play their first 5 games and not relinquish a single point! The Saxons 2^nd XV were also very competitive and would be undefeated in their first 5 games as well.

Damien Keenan, then president of the Toronto Rugby Union would contact McMahon part way through that first season to discuss moving the Saxons 1^st XV up a division. Both Saxons men’s teams would finish the 1998 season atop their respective divisions with the Saxons 1^st team going on to win the Toronto Rugby Union Division 4 championship for 1998.

The following year, as mentioned previously, the Cobourg Crash would join the Cobourg Saxons to form a rugby club with both men’s and women’s teams. Junior boy’s rugby was added a few years later followed by junior girl’s rugby.  Several seasons later Simon Maranda and Bob Richards, after playing with the Ajax Wanderer’s old-boy’s, went about organizing a team of over-35 Cobourg ruggers.  This team would be known as the Cobourg Saxon’s Old Boys (the SOBs). 

Cobourg Saxon’s Rugby Football Club continues today. In 2014 the Saxons began offering Under 10 flag rugby. They expanded the minor rugby program the following year to offer flag rugby for Under 6 through to Under 10 as well as Under 12 introduction to contact rugby.

In 2017 the Saxons organized the Cobourg Saxons Beach Rugby Festival, which at the time was the only event of its kind in Ontario. Based on the rapid growth and success of the Saxons Minor Rugby program, the Saxons were named the Ontario Rugby Union’s Minor Rugby Program of the year for 2017.

The Saxons can boast several team honours but they also take pride in the numerous players who have been named to regional, provincial and most recently national teams. 

As the Saxons minor rugby developed, it exposed the sport to more and more people. As a result, the Saxons have recently added a women’s touch rugby team named the Cobourg Saxons Dirty Dames. This was one of the first women’s touch teams in Ontario. The Oshawa Vikings have since added a women’s touch team as well.

After decades of using local school pitches, the Saxons found a home with the development of a rugby-specific playing field at Westwood Park in Cobourg. This was a joint effort between the Town of Cobourg and the Cobourg Saxons Rugby Club.

Significant Events in Cobourg Rugby History

• 1985  Boys’ Rugby is introduced at CDCI East
• 1986  Boys’ Rugby is introduced at CDCI West
• 1992  Cobourg Ghosts Junior Boys Rugby Team is established (The Ghosts would fold after 2 seasons)
• 1993  Boys’ Rugby is introduced at St. Mary’s Secondary School (SMSS)
• 1993  Girls’ Rugby is introduced at CDCI West
• 1994  Girls Rugby is introduced at SMSS
• 1996  Girls Rugby is introduced at CDCI East
• 1996  Cobourg Crash Women’s Rugby established
• 1997  CDCI West vs CDCI East Alumni Game
• 1997  Dec. 22, Cobourg Saxons established with its first General Meeting at Kelly’s Homelike Inn, Cobourg 
• 1998  Cobourg Saxons field two Men’s teams, both teams are undefeated in the first 5 matches of the season. Men’s 1^st team does not relinquish a single point in the first 5 games. Saxons 1^st XV win Division 4 Toronto Rugby Union Championship. 
• 1999  Saxons Men enter the Millennial Cup as the lowest seed and defeat the Toronto Welsh and the Toronto Buccaneers. The Saxons eventually are defeated in the semi-finals by Lindsay R.F.C.
• 2000  The Cobourg Crash and The Cobourg Saxons merge as the Cobourg Saxons Rugby Football Club
• 2000  The Junior Boys Saxons host the club’s first visiting Tour – St. David’s College from Wales.
• 2003  The Saxons Old Boys (SOBs) over 35 men’s team is added
• 2004  The Senior Men host their first visiting Tour – Royal Holloway, University of London from England.
• 2009  The Senior Men embark on the club’s first overseas Tour to London, England.
• 2013  Saxons add Under 10 boys minor rugby
• 2014  Saxons add Under 6, Under 8 and Under 12 to complete their Minor Rugby compliment
• 2015  Saxons add Saxons Dirty Dames Women’s Touch Rugby Team
• 2016  Owain Ruttan selected to Canada U19 Team, scoring 2 tries.
• 2016  Brandon McLeod selected to Canada Maple Leafs Sevens Team
• 2017  Keagan Read and Josh Barss selected to Canada U18 Team. Read would score 2 tries for Canada
• 2018  Owain Ruttan selected to Canada U20 team
• 2018  Josh Barss selected to Canada U18 Sevens team, scoring one try
• 2018  SMSS Senior Boys win OFSAA Provincial Rugby Gold
• 2018  Adam McNee selected to Canada U18 Sevens team
• 2019  Mason Flesch selected to Canada U20 team, scoring one try
• 2019  SMSS Senior Boys repeat as OFSAA Champions
• 2020  Mason Flesch selected to the Rugby Canada National Development Academy
• 2020  Noah Flesch selected to Toronto Arrows Academy Program
• 2021  Mason Flesch on April 17 makes his professional rugby debut with the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby 

From T-shirts to Champions

High School Rugby was becoming popular in rural Ontario so teachers Rob Majdell and Ray Heffernan thought they would start a rugby program in the spring of 1993. St Mary’s Catholic Secondary School (SMCSS) was still a small school of about 400 students. The expectation was that 20 firm participants would be needed at every practice, at every lunch, to continue with this program.

The other local high schools with their bigger population bases (around 800 students each) had already established rugby programs. For the betterment of rugby they agreed to play St. Mary’s new team in exhibition play for the first 3 years. These teams included Trinity College School, Cobourg East and Cobourg West.

During the first 2 years, players wore only t-shirts as jerseys. In year three, after the team became established, the school ordered and bought keeper jerseys. The fellas thought they were too nice to wear for games, so they decided to keep wearing t-shirts. The team began playing in the Kawartha league in 1996 and as they say, the rest is history.

In 2000, Greg Conway joined the coaching staff.  The team rebranded itself as the Thunder RFC and began to enjoy more success on the pitch – more coaches meant more skill development for the players.  By 2003, the team had its first player selected to Team Ontario – Sandy Sweet.  His skill and attitude started to turn the tide towards a more competitive approach by the players. 

The coaching staff had also added Drew Quemby to the fold.  This was massive as Rob Majdell had moved on to become a Vice-Principal at another school.  The team began showing potential, competing with or even defeating powerhouse teams from Lindsay and Peterborough – teams that only 2 or 3 years prior had been winning by 70 points!

In 2004, the team embarked on the first of many Rugby Tours.  The island of Bermuda was chosen.  The destination, along with amazing experiences like playing against the Bermuda U-18 team on the national pitch, drew even more athletes out to the team.  Touring became a mainstay and was the turning point in prying male athletes away from the mindset of only playing hockey.  The team now prides itself as a touring side, having embarked on 13 ruby tours to places like England, Hawaii, Barbados, Scotland, France, New York City and even the Rugby World Cup in 2015.  The opportunity to go on these tours has attracted many more athletes to try the sport, which has resulted in a very competitive side moving forward.

St. Mary’s has held the Saxon Cup (Northumberland championship) since 2005, after Port Hope won the inaugural competition in 2004.  The Junior Boys are the sole winner of the Junior Saxon Cup, winning it every year it has existed.  The Thunder take the local rivalry very seriously – the only loss by either the Junior or Senior team since 2002 to a local team came in the Saxons Cup final in 2004 to Port Hope.  Keeping the streak alive is taken to heart!

In 2005, the team qualified for its first COSSA Championship after making its first Kawartha Final in team history.  2010 saw the team win its first COSSA medal – a Silver – after toppling powerhouse Centennial from Belleville in the Semis.  They would lose a very tight COSSA final by 2 points and miss out on OFSAA.

In 2011, the Junior Boys won the team’s first Kawartha Championship.  2012 saw the team compete in its first OFSAA Championship – as host school.  Though ranked in the bottom half of the 16-team tournament draw, the team finished 5th overall!  That success was further demonstrated the following year, as the Senior Boys won their first Kawartha title in 2013.

The team had entered a new competitive phase – regularly competing for Kawartha titles and qualifying for COSSA.  They also had athletes not only competing for Ontario, but also being selected to represent Canada.  Brandon McLeod, or “The Missile”, played internationally on the Canada Sevens development team 6 times.  Owain Ruttan represented Canada for their U-18 and U-20 teams a total of 11 times, scoring two tries, including one against Wales!

2016 saw a Junior Team unlike any before at SMCSS.  They captured the Kawartha title and the team’s first COSSA Gold.  That same team won COSSA Gold again at Senior in 2017, 2018 and 2019.  During that run, they produced 4 more Canadian players – Josh Barss, Keagan Read, Adam McNee and Mason Flesch.
 
In 2018, the Senior Boys team reached new heights 25 years after the first team started play.  They toured Hawaii and defeated the powerful Kahuku – Hawaii state champions.  They returned home and won the Kawartha Championship as well as the COSSA Championship.  All that remained was OFSAA.
They entered as the #1 seed and dominated the tournament leading up to the final.  In a hard fought Gold Medal game, the Thunder prevailed 26-19 to capture its first Provincial Championship.  They outscored all opponents at OFSAA by a margin of 200-24 and finished the season a perfect 16-0.  

The 2019 team was not to be outdone.  That team won Kawartha and COSSA again, and went on the win the OFSAA Championship, becoming only the third school to ever repeat as Champion.  History was made however as St. Mary’s won the 2019 title game 40-0, which is the largest margin of victory in any OFSAA Boys Rugby Championship Final.

It has taken almost 30 years to reach the pinnacle.  They began in t-shirts and running shoes, losing by 70 or 80 points.  They have since seen the world and risen to the top, with back-to-back OFSAA Gold.  The coaching staff has grown as well – additions Tim Linehan, Adam Janssen, Shawn Carmichael have all played a part in the team’s growth and success.  As a coaching staff, we are excited to see where the team can go next!!!

Greg Conway - Head Coach, Thunder RFC

Updated August 2020

Emerging in 2014 as the newly amalgamated public high school in Cobourg, Cobourg Collegiate Institute (CCI) has brought together the rich athletic histories of the former Cobourg District Collegiate Institute East and Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West schools.  Moving from medium sized “AA” schools (between 500-900 students) to a larger AAA school (1150 students in 2020), C.C.I. offers its students an extensive selection of sports teams, with the continued pride and success that was enjoyed by the former East and West schools.  

Since its inaugural year in September of 2014, C.C.I. sports teams have won many Kawartha (local) and COSSA (regional) championships.  This has led to many trips to the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) provincial championships with its sports teams, including Girls Hockey, Boys Hockey, Boys Volleyball, Girls Volleyball, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Wrestling, Cross Country, Badminton, Tennis, Track and Field, and Swimming.  

A trip to CCI’s Dillon-Lawless Gym (named after renowned local high school physical education teachers Del Dillon and Jerry Lawless) will also allow you to see the growing number of team and individual OFSAA honours, including medal performances for finishing in the top 4 in the province.  

As of the winter of 2020, OFSAA Honours include the Girls Hockey team with a 4th place finish, and the following individuals: Wrestlers-Amara Hill (4th place), and Jayden Sparks (3rd place), Track Athletes- Cameron Bruce (4th place, 300m Hurdles) and Kate Current (2nd place, 800m), and Swimmers- Lauren Burleigh (2x 1st place 50m Para Backstroke, and 1st place 100m Para backstroke), and Carlie Bilodeau (1st place, JR 50m Backstroke).  Some of these athletes, and many others have enjoyed success at the college and university sports level following their years of competing for Cobourg Collegiate Institute.

In addition to an impressive C.C.I. OFSAA presence to date, they also consistently have demonstrated exceptional character through sport. Two teams were awarded with the OFSAA Sportsmanship Award during their OFSAA debuts – the varsity girls’ hockey team in 2016, in Stratford, and the senior boys’ soccer team in 2018, in Thunder Bay.

Beyond the successes of sports teams to date, dedicated coaches have planned a variety of trips to enrich the students’ experiences, and to provide lasting memories.  One of the highlighted trips include rugby teams taking part in tournaments in New York City and New Brunswick (Rothesay Netherwood Private School in Rothesay, NB).  As well, basketball teams have annually made trips to prestigious American Colleges and Universities to play games, tour the facilities and watch high-level teams train and compete.  Recent trips have been to Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia and New Hampshire.

Building on the excellent athletic facilities on the C.D.C.I. East school site, one major facility upgrade enjoyed by C.C.I. students was the installation of a 6-lane rubberized track.  This has attracted athletes and visitors, including the likes of Canadian Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse, for a training session before his trip to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.  Highlights on our track to date include running our school’s annual Relay for Life event, and a Board-Wide “Inclusive Track and Field Day”.  

The Inclusive track and field day is open to all Learning and Life Skills high school students around the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, and includes running, wheel-chair and field events, along with a barbeque lunch.  We are also happy to be able to accommodate local and regional elementary schools, housing our future C.C.I. athletes, who need a venue to run their annual track and field meets.

C.C.I has also been a support to many community members and visiting schools looking to access our gym facilities.  This has included a close relationship with the Lakeshore Minor Basketball Association, who has been a partner in helping us to invest in new glass backboards, adjustable nets and a padded score table.  The local Badminton Club, along with the Northumberland Sports Council, used our gym for the Ontario 55+ Winter Games in 2017, which was a unique opportunity to open our school to athletes from all age groups.  Our gyms are rented most nights, and weekends, throughout the year to service local sports clubs for training and competition, including volleyball, badminton, basketball, soccer, rugby, softball, baseball, lacrosse, rowing and more.

As Cobourg Collegiate Institute continues to grow its history, they are proud to be an important and vital part of the Cobourg community.

Updated August 2020