Fresh off their Training Camp at the ESPN Sports Complex at Disney World (Florida), the Uxbridge Secondary School Tigers are now making final preparations to take on the defending USA High School Rugby Champions Xavier Boys School from New York City.
The match will be the highlight of a school 'Spirit Day" as the Tigers are billing the game as CANADA VS. U.S.A.!

Kick-off will be at 2:00 pm on Thursday April 28th at Uxbridge Secondary School.

"The buzz at the school is electric" states coach Paul Connelly. "The student body is holding a banner contest as well as face and body painting before the game.  With over 1500 students on the sidelines the atmosphere will be awesome! It's the Olympic Gold Medal hockey final all over again...but rugby style."

The "Tigers" who are presently ranked second in the Ontario Rugby Union Coaches Poll have been training very hard all year in anticipation of this match.  Coach Peter Clayton feels that the players hard work is about to be rewarded. "Winter skill development sessions along with the necessary weight training and fitness work have laid the foundation for success....the spring training camp with Barrie Central in Florida has allowed the team to be weeks ahead of where they would normally be at this time of year."

Captain Dylan Smith, a player in the Rugby Canada Ontario High Performance Academy says the boys are up for it. "We love these big games...having lost in the Gold Medal final at last years OFSAA championship, the team feels that we need test matches like these to prepare us for bigger games down the road."

The Tigers will need to be at their best states Coach Clayton. "The video footage that the coaches and players have watched hi-lighting the Xavier championship season (as seen on youtube) displays a highly skilled and physically imposing side. The boys will have to win the 'one on one' battles and use their rugby IQ to be successful."

The Tigers are lead up front by Rugby Canada Academy Prop Lucas Gillium and Ontario provincial players Jon Piggozo, Chris Gladney and Scott Sopel. The backline includes the dynamic centre pairing of Scott Simmonds at 12 and captain Smith at 13. Simmonds has just returned from his Major Junior "A" hockey season with the Belleville Bulls proving that elite level hockey and rugby can go hand in hand.

Along with the Uxbridge fixture, Xavier also takes on Pine Ridge S.S. (Pickering) coached by Ontario U-18 provincial coach George Burford on Tuesday April 26th. 

K.O. times are set for 3:00 and 4:00 pm.