GEORGIAN AND SHERIDAN RUGBY TO PLAY FOR ANNUAL RIVALRY TROPHY

When the reigning OCAA champion Georgian Grizzlies (5-0) men's rugby team hosts the Sheridan Bruins (5-0) Sunday, there will be more than one piece of hardware on the line. 

With the top two teams in the West Division meeting in the final week of the regular season, it will not only serve as a de facto division championship game, but the two teams will also square off for the Brown Bear Trophy in the Battle of the Bears, marking the first OCAA men's rugby teams to have an annual rivalry trophy game. 

"With the majority of our teams playing in the East Divisions we have few head-to-head matches with Sheridan," Georgian College Manager of Athletics Michele McConney said. "In men's rugby we get that chance and our annual meetings have brought incredible competition on the field along with a fun rivalry off of it. We accept the challenge put forth by Sheridan and look forward to growing one of the highlights of our varsity calendar when the Grizzlies and Bruins get to play."

"We're excited to have this included in not only our rugby program, but as part of culture here," Sheridan athletic director Jim Flack said. "There is a great history of rivalry trophy games in North American post-secondary athletics, and we're excited to be a part of bringing this to the OCAA. With the essence of the game of rugby - where athletes sacrifice for the team and compete hard during play, but maintain a high-level of respect for their opposition - we felt this was the perfect way to begin a new tradition for Sheridan, for Georgian, for the game of rugby, and for the OCAA."

With an unbalanced schedule, there is the possibility the two teams will play more than once in a season, but the schools have agreed that only one game per year will be designated as the trophy game. 

In years when there are two regular season meetings, the team that did not host the previous year's Battle of the Bears will have the game take place on their turf.

The victors will win and retain the trophy until the next designated meeting when it will be up for grabs, once again. 

Any playoff meetings will not be included in the trophy competition. 

The first annual Battle of the Bears will take place Oct. 22 (1pm) at J.C. Massie Field on Georgian's Barrie Campus.