LONDON, Ont. -- Five Western Mustangs rugby players earned accolades on Wednesday, as the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) announced its 2009 all-stars and major award winners.
For the fourth straight year, Western's David Jacks (Tottenham, Ont.) was named a league all-star. Jacks, a two-time OUA most all-around player, had another strong regular season for the Mustangs and carried that play into the postseason, scoring a try last weekend to help lift Western to a semifinal win over Brock.
A breakout campaign for Conor Trainor (Vancouver, BC) earned the second-year engineering student a spot on his first OUA all-star team. Trainor led the league with nine tries in six regular season games, including a four-try performance in a win over the University of Toronto on Oct. 9. His 45 points were tops among Mustang players and fifth-best in the OUA.
The other three Mustang all-stars are Andrew Crow (Victoria, BC), Gareth Dyer (West Vancouver, BC) and Rory Tomlinson (Allison, Ont.), who was Western's second-highest scorer this year with six tries and a pair of converts for 34 points. For all three second-year players, it was their first appearance on the league all-star team.
Meanwhile, Western's opponent in this weekend's OUA Final -- the Queen’s Gaels -- also had several players recognized for their success on the pitch in 2009. The Gaels, who finished first in the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record, earned three major awards (presented by Gilbert Canada), as well as six all-star spots on Wednesday.
The league’s leading scorer, Ryan Kruyne (Dunrobin, Ont.), is the 2009 most valuable player and one of six Gaels to garner all-star status. The fourth-year centre made three tries and 30 converts for 99 points in the regular season, giving him a 15-point advantage over the second-highest scorer.
Rookie of the year honours go to Liam Underwood (Toronto) of the Gaels. The first-year player was the second-highest scoring Gael this season with six tries and six converts for 42 points. After his first varsity season, Underwood has proven his offensive abilities and skills and established himself as a strong leader.
Tom Clancy (Lindsay, Ont.) of the Brock Badgers receives the most all-around player award, as well as all-star recognition. The fifth-year 8 man, who scored two tries for 10 points, is the Badgers captain and has taken a great leadership role, both on and off the field. He is a strong defender and is able to motivate his teammates. Clancy also organizes team dinners and functions.
Having finished first for the second year in a row, Queen’s head coach Peter Huigenbos is the OUA coach of the year. Under his direction, Huigenbos led the Gaels to an 8-0-0 undefeated season.
Kruyne and Underwood are joined on the all-stars team by teammates Patrick Richardson (Vancouver), Tim Richardson (Vancouver), Graeme Dibden (Edmonton) and Chris Barrett (Vancouver). This marks the third appearance of the Richardson twin brothers on the all-star list, the second for Dibden and the first for rookie Underwood and Barrett.
Brock’s Rory McDonell (Brantford, Ont.) gets an all-star nod this year after finishing second in OUA scoring with 74 points. McDonell, the 2007 rookie of the year, scored 25 converts in seven games to lead the team in points. The third-year fullback has been an all-star every year since his rookie season.
Other Badgers receiving all-star status are Andrew Cowper (Uxbridge, Ont.), Hugh McDonell (Brantford, Ont.) and Sam Rimmer (Cheltenham, England).
McMaster’s Kevin Noble (Dundas, Ont.) receives all-star recognition for the second time in his OUA rugby career, after scoring a team-high 30 points on six tries in six games. Noble’s teammates, Andrew Lombard (Oakville, Ont.), Mike Sheppard (Brampton, Ont.) and Sam Roberts (Oshawa, Ont.), also make the all-star team.
Wilfrid Laurier’s top scorer, James Stewart (Mississauga, Ont.), is an all-star for the first time, along with Golden Hawks Jeff Pickel (St. Marys, Ont.), Alex St. John (Kitchener, Ont.) and Spencer Houlihan (Sarnia, Ont.).
Waterloo Warriors Luke Demeter (Alymer, Ont.), Richard Lebel (Waterloo, Ont.) and Marc Sweeney (Enfield, N.S.) each earn an all-star nod this year, while Royal Military College’s Kyle Harbottle (Cochrane, Alta.), Riley Saliken (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Brandon Black (Newmarket, Ont.) also earn recognition. Guelph Gryphons Scott Beukeboom (Lindsay, Ont.) and C. Leonard (Toronto), and Toronto Varsity Blues Rob Cerps (Scarborough, Ont.) and Dave L! awrence (Toronto) round out the all-star list.
2009 OUA MEN’S RUGBY MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AND ALL-STARS
Most Valuable Player – Ryan Kruyne (Queen’s)
Rookie of the Year – Liam Underwood (Queen’s)
Most All-Round Player – Tom Clancy (Brock)
Coach of the Year – Peter Huigenbos (Queen’s)
ALL-STARS
Chris Barrett (Vancouver) - Queen's
Scott Beukeboom (Lindsay, Ont.) - Guelph
Brandon Black (Newmarket, Ont.) - RMC
Rob Cerps (Scarborough, Ont.) - Toronto
Tom Clancy (Lindsay, Ont.) - Brock
Andrew Cowper (Uxbridge, Ont.) - Brock
Andrew Crow (Victoria) - Western
Luke Demeter (Aylmer, Ont.) - Waterloo
Graeme Dibden (Edmonton) - Queen's
Gareth Dyer (West Vancouver, B.C.) - Western
Kyle Harbottle (Cochrane, Alta.) - RMC
Spencer Houghlihan (Sarnia, Ont.) - Laurier
Dave Jacks (Tottenham, Ont.) - Western
Ryan Kruyne (Dunrobin, Ont.) - Queen's
Dave Lawrence (Toronto) - Toronto
Richard Lebel (Waterloo, Ont.) - Waterloo
C Leonard (Toronto) - Guelph
Andrew Lombard (Oakville, Ont.) - McMaster
Hugh McDonell (Brantford, Ont.) - Brock
Rory McDonnell (Brantford, Ont.) - Brock
Kevin Noble (Dundas, Ont.) - McMaster
Jeff Pickle (St. Marys, Ont.) - Laurier
Pat Richardson (Vancouver) - Queen's
Tim Richardson (Vancouver) - Queen's
Sam Rimmer (Cheltenham, England) - Brock
Sam Roberts (Oshawa, Ont.) - McMaster
Riley Saliken (Abbotsford, B.C.) - RMC
Mike Sheppard (Brampton, Ont.) - McMaster
James Stewart (Mississauga, Ont.) - Laurier
Alex St. John (Kitchener, Ont.) - Laurier
Marc Sweeney (Enfield, N.S.) - Waterloo
Rory Tomlinson (Allison, Ont.) - Western
Conor Trainor (Vancouver) - Western
Liam Underwood (Toronto) - Queen's
