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Stingers men’s rugby team opens season with convincing 66-7 win

stingers men's rugby
The Stingers scored the first 45 points of the game, before the Vert et Or scored their only try late in the first half. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

After an undefeated 2017 season, the Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team started the 2018 campaign with a win. They beat the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or 66-7 Friday night at the Concordia Stadium.

“I think we had a really good two-week [training camp] leading up to this,” head coach Craig Beemer said after the game. “We had a lot of returning starters and we had a lot of leaders from last year coming back.”

The Stingers got off to a hot start, with a try in the opening two minutes, and a second coming five minutes later. The Stingers had a 19-0 lead by the time the Vert et Or first had control of the ball inside the Stingers’s half, 15 minutes into the game.

“We really didn’t have to start from scratch,” Beemer added. “We just sort of built on the momentum we had from last year.”

Physical play between the Stingers and Vert et Or picked up in the second half. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

The Stingers were forcing the Vert et Or into making multiple mistakes, and had many interceptions in Sherbrooke’s half of the field. The Stingers took control of the game with four tries in ten minutes midway through the first half.  

The game started to get physical when Concordia’s lead grew to over 40 points late in the first half. A Vert et Or player didn’t like the way a Stinger tackled him, and a few jabs were thrown each way. The Vert et Or managed to scored in the first half, but the Stingers were up 45-7 at halftime.

“Believe it or not we didn’t actually do what we really wanted to do in the first half,” Beemer said. “We just had an emotional, testosterone-filled first half where we saw that we have a lot of talented players.”“I still think we could play better with the ball, and when we have overlaps, to use them and not just try to run over the opposition. It worked tonight, but doesn’t always work,” the head coach said.

The Stingers didn’t score as much in the second half, but the physicality increased. The Vert et Or had more possession of the ball, but the Stingers were strong defensively, stopping them on every opportunity, which frustrated their opponents.

Charles Debove scored on eight of 10 conversions. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

For an eight-minute stretch in the second half, Sherbrooke constantly had the ball between Concordia’s five and 10-yard line, but couldn’t score. The referee stopped play multiple times for fouls.

“We had that scrum there where nobody was playing rugby,” Beemer said about the incidents.

In total, the Stingers scored 10 tries, while Stingers’s Jonathan Banks was successful on eight of 10 conversions.

The Stingers men’s rugby team’s next game is Sept. 21 away against the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) Piranhas.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen. 

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Men’s rugby team crowned RSEQ champions after beating ETS 35-7

The men’s rugby team is keeping most of their players after winning the title. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

Perfect season continues as Stingers head to nationals

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team won the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) championship on Nov. 12 at Concordia Stadium. They beat the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) Piranhas in the final, by a score of 35-7.

Centre Samuel Montminy led the Stingers with two tries in the game. Fly-half Moritz Wittmann and hooker Nicholas Smith both added a try, and fly-half Jonathan Banks scored two penalty kicks.

The Stingers entered the final undefeated, winning all seven of their regular season games as well as their semifinal match against the McGill Redmen. The Piranhas stayed just above a .500 record on the year, finishing 3-3-1 before winning their semifinal against the Bishop’s Gaiters. The Stingers beat the Piranhas 36-12 during the last matchup between the two teams on Sept. 17.

Stingers head coach Craig Beemer had nothing but praise for the Piranhas squad that continued to battle for the entire game.

“I thought that [ETS] would have trouble handling our skill and our use of the width of the field,” he said. “I knew that they would tackle really well and they did. The score was really close for 25-30 minutes, and that’s because ETS is a heck of a team, a really well-coached team by Rudy Escoffier. It was a bit surprising.”

According to Beemer, the Stingers’ 21-0 lead after the first half didn’t reflect how good of a team the Piranhas were. “That [first half] was probably our toughest 40 minutes we’ve had all year.”

Beemer added that the Stingers were motivated to cap off a perfect season with this championship after the disappointment of last season, when the Stingers finished 1-6.

The men’s rugby team will now play in the national championship in Guelph, Ont., from Nov. 16 to 19. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

“It was pretty easy to stay humble,” Beemer said. “Our theme was: good is the enemy of great. Despite our winning streak, the guys were hungry and wanted to win every week. It comes down to the fact that we had really great players this year, and I was fortunate enough to have a great coaching staff.”

“I’m one of 67 guys,” Beemer added. “Every person that’s on this team puts something forth. It’s easy to keep guys motivated when you have everyone holding each other accountable.”

Centre Charles Debove, who was named the most outstanding player in the RSEQ this season, echoed his coach’s message.

“We came into the game ready to go to war,” Debove said. “[After] all the work we did during the season, it feels amazing to finally win a championship with the boys. We’re such a tight-knit group.”

Debove added that the team’s mindset this season was completely different from last year’s. “Compared to last year, we knew we were never going to feel that way again. 1-6 was not acceptable,” he said. “We succeeded as a team.”

After this championship win, the Stingers will head to Guelph, Ont., for the men’s rugby nationals. Beemer said the team will have to improve their discipline to be successful against the other top-ranked teams in the country.

“We’ve got a lot of skill,” the coach said. “The teams are going to be really good. Not to take anything away from our league, but it’s going to be the best from every province. I don’t know if we’ve been tested well enough this season so far.”

Debove added: “We need to be more resilient. We need to get ready for better competition.”

The Canadian university men’s rugby championship will kick off on Nov. 16.

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

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A triumphant road to recovery

After missing the 2016 season with an injury, Moritz Wittmann returned to Stingers ready to lead

One year ago, Moritz Wittmann was playing in an exhibition rugby match for the Concordia Stingers when his right knee buckled. He partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, but the injury didn’t require surgery at the time.

“Two months later, I was sort of good to run again, and I did the same thing. [The knee] buckled, and [the ACL] completely tore,” said Wittmann, who plays as a fly half. He had surgery on his knee in February after missing the Stingers’ entire 2016 season.

Without Wittmann and several other players who also had knee injuries, the Stingers suffered with a 1-6 record during the regular season. For Wittmann, not being able to join his teammates on the field was heartbreaking.

“You watch the guys out there, and you want to be in there, and you want to play,” Wittmann said. “At times, you can’t even watch. It’s hard. Especially with rugby, it’s such a physical sport, if you’re not taking part in the pain, you feel like you’re not part of the team.”

However, head coach Craig Beemer saw a positive side to Wittmann’s injury. He said Wittmann never missed a practice, and he helped out the team however he could.

Moritz Wittmann, with his taped knee, makes a pass during the 2017 season. Photo by Brianna Thicke.

“I have seen a lot of players ‘disappear’ for the year after something as devastating as that, but in this case I saw the exact opposite,” Beemer said in an email to The Concordian. “He never let his frustrations show even though you knew, deep down, not being able to step on the field was killing him.”

After Wittmann’s surgery in February, he recovered in time for the 2017 season. But his road to recovery wasn’t a smooth ride. The biggest bump along his journey was having to give up day-to-day activities for the first two months post-surgery.

“I’m used to just walking around, being active, running and doing any kind of sport,” Wittmann said. “So when you’re in bed for two months, you feel [bad]. You feel like you have less agency over your body; you don’t have control over it.”

Step-by-step, Wittmann went through the rehabilitation process to heal and strengthen his knee. During the recovery, his goal was to play in the Stingers’ first game of the 2017 season against the McGill Redmen. He played in that game, scored two tries, and the Stingers won 38-10.

“[The game] was great. It was unreal, it was so much fun,” Wittmann said while shaking his head with a smirk only seen on people who have finally accomplished their personal goals. He was also named Male Athlete of the Week for the Stingers after that performance.

Following the victory against McGill, the Stingers haven’t stopped winning. They have a 6-0 record and are in first place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). Wittmann has played in all six games and is fifth on the Stingers for most tries with two. Wittmann said winning games this year is a lot of fun for the whole team, but especially for the players who returned from injuries.

“At the moment, we’re just grateful to be winning a few games,” Wittmann said. “Last year was depressing, especially for most of the guys on the sideline. We would lose by 40 points, and this year we’re just dominating teams. It’s fun.”

Wittmann is in his third year with the Stingers, and even though he has had an adventurous career with the team, he said he never expected to play rugby at Concordia. Wittmann grew up in Zurich, Switzerland, and first heard about Montreal in an in-flight magazine. After high school, Wittmann wanted a new challenge, so he thought Concordia University would be the place to go. He came to study English literature—rugby wasn’t his priority.

“I wasn’t expecting to play here. That wasn’t why I came here,” he said. “I heard they had a rugby team, and I showed up after training camp, and asked, ‘Can I play with you guys?’”

Wittmann started playing rugby at eight years old while he was living in the United Kingdom because he saw his older brother play and was jealous. Even though he has played the sport all over Europe and in Canada, he said rugby culture between countries isn’t that different.

“The culture is the same, everyone is pretty friendly,” he said. “It’s sort of a known thing around the rugby community to be friendly, opening and welcoming to people.”

In coach Beemer’s opinion, Wittmann exemplifies this friendly behaviour.

“He wins over his teammates with his incredible attitude and his ability to make everyone feel important and included,” Beemer said. “What you don’t see [behind the scenes] is him staying to support the developing players during scrimmages, cleaning up the training field post-practice and [taking on] the role of water boy just to be a part of what we are doing.”

While Wittmann continues helping out his teammates both on and off the pitch, all he wants to do is keep winning. “I think we can win [the championship]. I’m pretty confident. That’s the goal.”

Main photo by Kirubel Mehari.

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Stingers fall to crosstown rivals

Concordia’s men’s rugby team took to the field to face the McGill Redmen on Wednesday night at Concordia Stadium. This was the first meeting between both schools since last year’s final.

The Stingers looked to settle the difference in this game, but poorly executed set plays led to another loss to their rivals. McGill won the match 22-10.

The first half was highlighted with great defense and heart from the Stingers. They opened the game with tons of pressure against a Redmen side that did not respond favourably to the tactics. McGill committed an abundance of penalties as a result.

The first points on the board came out of an outstanding tackle by Stingers flanker Paul Bouet. This sparked a lapse in judgment from the Redmen and gave rookie centre and kicker Joey Fulginiti great field position from 30 yards out. He easily made the kick to give the Stingers a three-point lead. The rest of the half was spent fending off the opposition.

Concordia rookie Fulginiti has integrated well with the team. During Wednesday’s game, he had five points against McGill and while some rookies feel pressure, Fulginiti otherwise.

“It’s a great atmosphere, as a rookie, you don’t feel like one and were a very close knit family,” he said.

A late penalty by Concordia allowed McGill one last effort to put up points. The Redmen successfully managed to keep the ball and scored a try. The conversion was good, giving them a 7-3 lead going into the second half.

While McGill played with some degree of difficulty in the first half, the second 40 minutes saw a completely different team. The Redmen were successful on a majority of their set-piece plays and managed to steal possession away from the Stingers. This gave the visitors’ backs ample opportunities to move the ball up the field. McGill scored two tries and kicked for three points to give them a 22-3 lead.

Losing the set piece battle made it difficult for the Stingers backs to see any possession. The team spent all but the last moments of the game in their half of the field. A lightning fast run by Freddy Kacou resulted in a late try thanks to an offload from teammate Fulginiti. These were the last points of the game.

“We’ve got the guys who are buying into the game plan, thinking tactically, and I’m very happy,” said head coach Clive Gibson. “There is still work to be done, but we have time. This gives us a good platform to work on.”

“It was a game of two different halves,” said Stingers flanker Bouet. “The first half we played pretty well, minus the mental breakdown at the end. I think in the second [half] we continued to make those same mental mistakes.”

The Stingers have an important fixture next week against Université de Montréal. A win is even more crucial as the team no longer has the luxury of a guaranteed playoff spot.

Concordia faces off against U de M on Friday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. at Concordia Stadium.

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