Men's Rugby: Marauders Comeback Effort Falls Short, Guelph Downs Mac 21-15

Second half tries from Graham Dobbs and Mike Smith made things interesting at Back 10 Field Sunday.

A late, bruising try from Mike Smith made things interesting as the alumni looked on at Back 10 Field Sunday. He brought the Marauders within a score of the defending OUA champions, the Guelph Gryphons, but that's as close as the hosts would come, as Guelph downed McMaster 21-15 on Mac's Alumni Day.

The loss was McMaster's first of the season, dropping the Marauders to 2-1 in 2017, while the Gryphons remained unbeaten and improved to 3-0.

Smith and Graham Dobbs had tries for the Marauders, while Will Kelly -- fresh from international duty with the Canadian Junior National Fifteens Team -- made good on a convert and penalty goal.

The trio of Jordan Hofstra, Erich Milne and John Sheridan had tries for the Gryphons in the victory, with Sheridan leading all scorers with three converts for a total of 11 points.

Opening the scoring with the boot, Kelly gave Mac the lead in the early moments Sunday with his successful penalty goal.

But Guelph quickly countered for the try and the lead, converting it for 7-3 before an expertly-timed interception saw the visitors double their lead with a try under the posts and simple convert.

That 14-3 score held through the halftime break, until Guelph's third try arrived early in the second half to give the defending champions an 18-point advantage.

Dobbs and Smith helped the home side claw to within six points of their opponents, but despite a stretch of late, desperate possession, the Marauders were unable to fashion a final, game-changing try.

NEXT UP: The Marauders travel to Waterloo for a Sunday afternoon encounter with the Warriors. That game is slated to kick off at 1:00 p.m.

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