Wolves struggle late in 52-13 loss to Durham Lords

The Algonquin Wolves men’s rugby team fell to 0-4 on Oct. 5 after a hard-fought game against the Durham Lords ended 52-13. The loss means the Wolves will not qualify for the 2024 post season.

Despite the score, the Wolves looked sharp against a fast and physical Lords team, and kept the game within a score for nearly the entire first half.

After turning over the Lords in their own end, the Wolves methodically worked their way down field, but failed to score after a turnover of their own led to a long Durham try. The Wolves answered quickly with a try of their own but failed to convert the extra points.

“We were much sharper today, we had a great week of practice,” said Wolves head coach Geoff Tomlinson. “It’s just hard when you have to tackle so much, it gets tiring. They dominated possession and wore us down.”

The Lords were quick to make defensive adjustments and seemed to take advantage of favourable matchups in the backs.

“Their centres made a big difference,” said Tomlinson. “They game planned well and executed on it, so kudos to them.”

After a 2023 season where the Wolves failed to win a game, the team has made significant improvements throughout the season. They opened the 2024 season with an 84-0 loss to defending silver medalists Humber Hawks but have kept their games competitive since with close losses to Conestoga, Seneca and now Durham.

“We absolutely want to get a win,” said Tomlinson. “But more than anything we want to play well.”

A number of players from both sides went down with injuries early in the game, and the physicality boiled over into frustration. The two sides traded hard hits, trash talk and eventually blows late in the second half.

Wolves fullback Luke Flores found himself in the middle of the scrap after delivering a crushing hit on the Durham outside centre.

“It was do or die, but now we have nothing to lose,” said Flores. “We didn’t win any last year, we want it, we’re hungry for it”.

Despite failing to keep their playoff hopes alive, the players seemed to be in good spirits.

“I think it was our best game,” said Flores. “The boys were going all out, we’ve built on a lot and we’re going to keep building and getting better.”

With a full two weeks of rest ahead of them, the Wolves are looking to score their first win against the 3-1 St. Lawrence Surge in Kingston on Oct. 19.

“I know it would mean a lot to them,” said Lindsay Martin, who came out to support her friends who play for the Wolves. “Hopefully there’s no more fights.”