After Round 1, Dudes and Sues Are Frontrunners for Intrasquads Title

This year’s MRugby Intrasquad Tournament kicked off at Oosterbaan Field House last week. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide video of the first round of action. We’ll post video of future rounds to our YouTube channel. We have provided standings below, as well as power rankings and a short review of each of the teams’ performances last week. Round 2 will take place on Monday, January 27.

In regular season play, teams receive three points for a win, two points for a tie, one point for a loss, and zero points for a forfeit. The top four teams make the championship playoffs. Let’s dig into the standings.

Now for the power rankings. These rankings don’t necessarily reflect the tournament standings, and are based on the opinions of this committee.

1. Dudes

Round 1: Win vs. Canham (31-17), Win vs. Benny (41-10)

Dudes got off to a blazing start as Lucas Dean opened the scoring for his team with two tries in two minutes. Guided by the always-slick Jordan Perez, this team tops our power rankings this week. Brandon Walter made it into the try-zone three times, and Dudes are currently the highest scoring team with 72 points.

2. Sues

Round 1: Win vs. Jones (38-7), Win vs. Ross (25-17)

Sues started off the night by beating a shorthanded Jones squad that was missing Seth McCormack. It was the most lopsided victory of the round. In a more competitive second game the team came back against offensive powerhouse Ross, leaning heavily on Jamie Demers’ three late tries. Sues are among the frontrunners due to their explosiveness on offense, but they struggled early on to defend against quicker players, including Wyatt Tyrna and Sam Glasberg.

3. Canham

Round 1: Loss vs. Dudes (17-31), Tie vs. Jones (19-19)

Canham had a rough start to the season; they came in with high expectations but were obliterated by Dudes, at one point trailing 31-0. They finally hit their stride toward the end of the game, scoring three tries in a row via Max Xie, Bryan Flowers, and Bryce Watson. In their second game, against Jones, Canham again scored three tries and improved their defense. However, Watson had a rare miscalculation in a critical moment when he was beaten to a ball in the try zone by James Olson, causing Canham to tie. Canham’s performance didn’t match their talent level, possibly due to bad coaching by a sidelined Tanner Visco.

4. Benny

Round 1: Win vs. Ross (12-5), Loss vs. Dudes (10-41)

The Bennies struggled to get into the try zone on Monday, putting up a meager 27 points. However, they squeezed out a close win against Ross in their first game, and are one of only three teams that earned a dub in Round 1. Despite going a respectable 1-1, the team struggled in a multitude of ways, best summarized by their first conversion attempt, when the ball was blocked by a loose wire. Despite strong performances by Liam Clancy and AJ Nasharr, the team was crushed in their second match by a stacked Dudes squad.

5. Ross

Round 1: Loss vs. Benny (5-12), Loss vs. Sues (17-25)

Ross got off to a fast start against the Bennies but couldn’t finish. Both sides traded penalties and small gains for much of the first half, but Alex Leichter would have had a try if he didn’t trip and fall. Against Sues, Ross was the much smaller team, and didn’t quite have enough speed to make up for it. Eoin Sansevero still managed to put up two tries in the first half. Ross is already four points behind the top two teams…

6. Jones

Round 1: Loss vs. Sues (7-38), Tie vs. Canham (19-19)

Jones avoided their second Round 1 loss on a miraculous late-try against Canham that involved the ball bouncing off an overhanging wire on what should have been a game-ending kick. Forcing a tie against Canham felt like more like a win after Jones was blown out by Sues in their first game. Jones needs Davis Grimm and Jake Bodner at full strength, ASAP.