Stingers Dominated in Playoff Loss

The McGill Redmen men’s rugby team proved they are league leaders as they killed Concordia’s chances of advancing in the playoffs 41-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Heading into the QSSF semi-final, McGill was 5-1 including two overwhelming wins over the Stingers 50-3 and 31-5. Concordia was looking for their first win of the season in the hopes of advancing to the finals against Bishop’s University.
If the Stingers played the way they did in the game’s opening half, they would have had a reasonable chance. “For the first 40 minutes of the game they played the best rugby they’ve played all year,” said head coach Clive Gibson after his team only gave up 10 points.
Concordia used the entire width of the field to dodge McGill’s punishing hits. A particularly brilliant sequence combined a won line-out by the forwards, allowing the backs to run the ball all the way across the field’s width and gain 15 yards, then an out of bounds kick to give the Stingers possession.
Although McGill was physically dominating the rucks, winning five in a row before going in to score, Concordia was creative. On a high kick by McGill, Concordia fullback Courtney Bishop volleyed the ball in the air to a teammate to avoid a tackle.
“McGill is a good second half team,” said Stinger captain Eric Van Thiel. “I told the guys the first 20 minutes [of the second half] is going to be the make or break time. I guess I was wrong.”
Concordia survived the first 20 minutes of the second half by only giving up one try on a solo run.
Then the floodgates opened.
The end of the game was a total breakdown by Concordia’s defence and led to a McGill scoring onslaught. The Redmen scored three tries and three kicks in three minutes, even with a player sin-binned.
“You just don’t know what to say anymore,” said Van Thiel. “I think every guy on that team sacrificed themselves to the very end. And pretty much all of us are beat up right now.”
The battered Stingers still kept on fighting however. Centre Patrick Demers dump tackled a McGill player in the style of a WWE body slam. The forward pack held together on posting and controlling the ball on rucks. The back line defended the width of the field and dove to catch players.
The Stingers couldn’t fight their way back from 41 points down and ended the game without a single point.
For four players it was the last time in a Stinger uniform. Andrew Taylor, Glenn Imperial, Demers and Van Thiel will not be eligible to play next season.
“It’s pretty disappointing considering this is the last game of my Concordia career,” said Van Thiel. “It is a rough way to go, but I can’t look at the numbers because it’s pretty disappointing. When you look at the level of skill which has improved from where we started to where we are now, it’s a good thing.”
Coach Gibson commented on the exceptional talent on the Stinger squad. “This year’s stand-out had to be Van Thiel without a doubt. Michael Cosolante had some phenomenal flashes; Demers did everything that could have been expected of somebody who was asked to change positions at the beginning of the year. Imperial was a steadying force in every game.”
Van Thiel couldn’t say enough about the respect his teammates deserve despite what the record books show but conceded. “In the end there is nothing you can say, it’s done, it’s gone.”