Olivier Paiement – The Concordian

Stingers rally from behind to eliminate Ottawa in the RSEQ men’s rugby semi-final

The Gee-Gees got off to a hot start with a 14-3 lead to start the game by dominating possession. In the second part of the first half, Concordia was able to switch up momentum and return to their locker room at halftime up 22-14.

Stingers head coach John Lavery was not surprised by the way his team handled adversity after being in the hole early.

“There are some experienced guys in this group that have been in a lot of big games before and they know how to handle pressure,” Lavery said. “Our leaders led, but not by talking. They led by action. They executed some stuff and put way more physical pressure on the opposition than they had in the first fifteen minutes.”

Ottawa came out at the start of the second half and scored early, making the game 25-21. Following the Ottawa try, both teams would go back and forth, resulting in almost 25 minutes of scoreless action.

However, Concordia never took their foot off the gas and added two more tries to seal the game. The last one came with only two minutes left and capped off a very intense match between two of the RSEQ’s best teams in the regular season. The final score of 37-21 surely pleased the crowd present at Concordia Stadium.

It was the second time this year that the Stingers have beaten the Gee-Gees. The last time they met, Concordia had beaten Ottawa 30-17.

The Stingers will now be heading to their fourth consecutive RSEQ men’s rugby final where they will be facing the McGill Redbirds. A win would also mark a fourth consecutive provincial championship.

Lavery is expecting another competitive game against the team that finished first in the regular season.

“It’s going to be more or less the same. I will back us all day, but to be fair, I do not think there are going to be easy games between now and the time we’re done,” Lavery said.

McGill will be highly motivated for the game as they will be seeking revenge on their cross-town rivals. They were defeated by Concordia 14-6 in a tightly contested match on Oct. 2. The Stingers had also eliminated them in the last RSEQ final in 2019 by a score of 38-19.

This time however, Concordia will not be holding the home-field advantage in what has a chance to be their fourth straight title.

Photograph by Aashka Patel

The Stingers display their character as they edge out longtime rivals McGill Redbirds in overtime

One week after a historic win against the Université de Montréal, the Stingers overcame adversity to win the 52nd edition of the Shaughnessy Cup against the McGill Redbirds — despite being down 33-11 at one point in front of a sellout crowd of 3500 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

In the first half, a fumble and an interception resulted in two early touchdowns for McGill. Stingers head coach Brad Collinson said that despite the win, the team needs to improve in the early stages of games.

“Getting off to a good start is something we are constantly talking about,” Collinson said. “We’ve had two short weeks to prepare for these last two games, now with a full week to get ready [for Sherbrooke] we’re going to hammer it through and make sure the players understand.”

The Stingers’ offence struggled early largely due to constant pressure coming from the Redbirds’ defensive front that managed to sack Stingers quarterback Olivier Roy five times throughout the game.

Concordia trailed 16-2 at the half and continued to struggle into the third quarter. The Stingers could not move the ball and a 39-yard scoop and score from the Redbirds put McGill in front 23-4.

The Stingers hoist the Shaughnessy Cup in front of their visiting fans

But the tide of the game turned after a 50-yard touchdown grab by Stingers’ receiver Jaylan Greaves capped off a 94-yard Concordia drive to end the quarter.

McGill answered with another touchdown, but these would be the last points they would score. Down 33-11 with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Roy and his offence changed gears, scoring three touchdowns on consecutive drives to tie the game.

The first came off a 6-yard grab by Olivier Morency that followed two dropped passes by veteran receiver Jeremy Murphy in the endzone.

The next touchdown came on a skillful play by Roy who ran from sideline to sideline to avoid defenders and launched a 35-yard bomb to Jacob Salvail.

After big stops by their defence, the Stingers got the ball back — down eight points with 2:36 to go in the 4th quarter. Murphy was able to redeem himself with two huge catches on this drive, including the touchdown that set them up to tie the game. Roy took care of the two-point conversion himself and ran up the middle to force an overtime.

Following the game, Murphy said he was confident he would get an opportunity to bounce back.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Murphy said. “So I know there’s always going to be another chance for me to make a play. My guys trusted me, and I trusted my guys. I wasn’t worried about it.”

The Redbirds started off with the ball in extra time but were unable to score.

The Stingers got the ball back and completed another incredible comeback. Morency picked up a first down on a 20-yard rush that set up fifth-year kicker Andrew Stevens in perfect field position to seal the game. The veteran did not miss his opportunity and nailed a 21-yard field goal through the uprights.

After another emotional rollercoaster of a game, Murphy summed up his thoughts on the team’s latest comeback victory.

“If we could start off our games like this, we’re looking pretty good,” Murphy said.

The Stingers will look to start strong and extend their win streak at home next week against the Sherbrooke Vert & Or.

Photographs by Catherine Reynolds