Perfect record no more

The Concordia men’s rugby team had their chance of a perfect season ruined on Sunday at the hands of the McGill Redmen in a 57-10 beating.
The Stingers now drop into second place ahead of Bishops and Sherbrooke.
In the first 20 minutes, it seemed like the Stingers had a shot at defeating their cross-town rivals. McGill’s textbook tackles were matched by Concordia’s intensity. The Stingers only gave up three points in the opening minutes courtesy of a penalty kick by McGill’s Matthew Sidoti.
The first defensive test for the Stingers was a try-line stand on a McGill onslaught. The Redmen tried to fool Concordia on the blindside but Stinger James Acker made a try-saving tackle. Fullback Xavier Birot mirrored his efforts on the far side of the field by stopping the Redmen’s wing from scoring.
Penalties were McGill’s Achilles heel. After being repeatedly pushed back downfield for errors, the Redmen handed Birot enough field position to kick a penalty to even the score at three.
After drawing even, the Redmen rallied and caught Concordia on the backfoot. A line-out on Concordia’s ten-yard line led to a maul that allowed the Redman their first try.
Minutes later McGill used the exact same formula to score in the corner and pull ahead 15-3.
The Redmen then broke through the Stingers defense again to score between the uprights. McGill led 22-3 at the half.
“It seems like everytime we get down by 10 or 15 points we say “screw this’ and start to give up,” explains inside-centre Jonathan Dextras-Romagnino about the Stingers lack of effort in the latter part of the game.
Birot echoed the sentiment and said, “after the first twenty minutes we decided not to play. Every sector of our game was terrible.”
Auguste Stoker started the half in a exemplary way; delivering a huge hit to McGill’s eight-man. Unfortunately the momentum Concordia was beginning to build on evaporated when McGill’s prop beat the backs and jogged into the try zone.
McGill would score again within two minutes by passing the ball all the way to one side of the field, then all the way back to score in the opposite corner.
In the second half the only thing that was going for the Stingers was McGill’s mistakes. Backtalk to the referee earned Concordia a penalty try and an effortless five points. Birot put the ball between the uprights to round out the Stingers’ scoring at ten.
The Redmen would score three more tries but the score didn’t reflect the play in the dying minutes. Concordia began to improve their scrums and didn’t let McGill push them around. Dextras-Romagnino saved a try by snatching the ball from out of McGill’s hands. Jumper Marc Roche improved on line-outs and Grady Galloway was a dominant force on rucks.
When the final whistle sounded McGill remained undefeated and Concordia dropped to 3-1.
The Stingers will have a re-match against McGill next Sunday at Loyola Field at noon.

The Concordia men’s rugby team had their chance of a perfect season ruined on Sunday at the hands of the McGill Redmen in a 57-10 beating.
The Stingers now drop into second place ahead of Bishops and Sherbrooke.
In the first 20 minutes, it seemed like the Stingers had a shot at defeating their cross-town rivals. McGill’s textbook tackles were matched by Concordia’s intensity. The Stingers only gave up three points in the opening minutes courtesy of a penalty kick by McGill’s Matthew Sidoti.
The first defensive test for the Stingers was a try-line stand on a McGill onslaught. The Redmen tried to fool Concordia on the blindside but Stinger James Acker made a try-saving tackle. Fullback Xavier Birot mirrored his efforts on the far side of the field by stopping the Redmen’s wing from scoring.
Penalties were McGill’s Achilles heel. After being repeatedly pushed back downfield for errors, the Redmen handed Birot enough field position to kick a penalty to even the score at three.
After drawing even, the Redmen rallied and caught Concordia on the backfoot. A line-out on Concordia’s ten-yard line led to a maul that allowed the Redman their first try.
Minutes later McGill used the exact same formula to score in the corner and pull ahead 15-3.
The Redmen then broke through the Stingers defense again to score between the uprights. McGill led 22-3 at the half.
“It seems like everytime we get down by 10 or 15 points we say ‘screw this’ and start to give up,” explains inside-centre Jonathan Dextras-Romagnino about the Stingers lack of effort in the latter part of the game.
Birot echoed the sentiment and said, “after the first twenty minutes we decided not to play. Every sector of our game was terrible.”
Auguste Stoker started the half in a exemplary way; delivering a huge hit to McGill’s eight-man. Unfortunately the momentum Concordia was beginning to build on evaporated when McGill’s prop beat the backs and jogged into the try zone.
McGill would score again within two minutes by passing the ball all the way to one side of the field, then all the way back to score in the opposite corner.
In the second half the only thing that was going for the Stingers was McGill’s mistakes. Backtalk to the referee earned Concordia a penalty try and an effortless five points. Birot put the ball between the uprights to round out the Stingers’ scoring at ten.
The Redmen would score three more tries but the score didn’t reflect the play in the dying minutes. Concordia began to improve their scrums and didn’t let McGill push them around. Dextras-Romagnino saved a try by snatching the ball from out of McGill’s hands. Jumper Marc Roche improved on line-outs and Grady Galloway was a dominant force on rucks.
When the final whistle sounded McGill remained undefeated and Concordia dropped to 3-1.
The Stingers will have a re-match against McGill next Sunday at Loyola Field at noon.

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