Defence holds strong to remain undefeated in ten straight
The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team remain undefeated this season with a 36-3 victory over the Université de Montréal Carabins Friday night at Concordia Stadium. This is their third win of the season, as they remain on top of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).
Despite what the final score suggests, it was the Stingers’s defence that got the best of the Carabins. The Carabins had numerous scoring opportunities in the game, but were simply unable to pass the Stingers’s goalline.
“We have a certain structure [on defence] that we try to play with and I think we mapped that out very well,” said head coach Craig Beemer after the game. “It was very aggressive off the line and we didn’t miss too many tackles.”
Beemer added that he was happy with the way his offence played compared to the first two games. “We are not simply relying on individuals and overall, I am really happy with our performance,” he said.
Hooker Michael Laplaine-Pereira, who finished the game with two tries, was named MVP of the game for the Stingers.
🐝🏉 Do not get in this man’s way! 😳 Michael Laplaine-Pereira takes a slick pass from Eliott Goussanou and turns on the afterburners en route to his first of two tries on the night. pic.twitter.com/ULaVKVExKV
— Concordia Stingers (@The_Stingers) September 29, 2018
Stingers Dylan MacDonald and Stephen Martinez received yellow cards, while Malcolm Baird received a red card.
“I thought the referee was very critical of us,” Beemer said. “But at the same time, if you take that many penalties, you will get cards.”
According to Beemer, the team responded to adversity the right way, despite receiving many penalties.
“Sometimes you’re really getting frustrated,” Beemer added. “I think our guys did a really good job with keeping calm, just playing defence and trying to create turnovers to get the ball.”
With that win, the Stingers won all of their last 10 regular season games, dating back to last year’s undefeated season.
“You always want to win the last game,” said Beemer, referring to the championship game. “That record is more about the players and their willingness to get better every day.”
The Stingers will now face the Bishop’s University Gaiters on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. in Sherbrooke.
