 Media Credit: John Kelsey Despite this photo's implications, the Redmen soared far above the Vert et Or on Sunday night. [Click to enlarge]
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 Media Credit: John Kelsey McGill left Sherbrooke grasping at and gasping for air. [Click to enlarge]
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Coming into Sunday night's tilt with Sherbrooke at Molson Stadium, the McGill rugby team knew it had the upper hand over the Vert et Or. The Redmen didn't need to play their best game to win-all they needed to do was run their set plays, make few mistakes, and play strong defence. The fact that they did not play their best game, but were still able to engineer a painfully one-sided 64-0 walloping of Sherbrooke, is a scary thought for the other three teams in the Quebec Student Sports Federation.
The Redmen sit atop the QSSF standings with a record of 4-0, but their number of wins pales in comparison to the number of points they have scored this season. Including their win on Sunday, the Red 'n' White have scored 200 points in four games. To put that in perspective, Bishop's, Concordia, and Sherbrooke have combined to score only 128 points in 12 games. McGill has also allowed a league-best 27 points this season, less than half as many as Concordia's second-best 78 points allowed.
"The competition in the Quebec league is not at our level," said sophomore fullback Michael Davis. "At this point, it's about setting personal goals and trying to reach those. It's about trying to work together as a team and doing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season."
McGill's superior teamwork was the key factor in their victory. The Redmen controlled the match with strong forwardplay, enabling the backs to run over their Vert et Or opponents. Though a few drives stalled early in the first half, the Redmen were the only ones with scoring opportunities, as the ball was constantly in the Vert et Or's zone.
"We started playing a lot better than we had in the last couple of games," said Head Coach Sean McCaffrey. "But in the first half, there were four tries that were called back, and perhaps we should have kept our discipline. We could have given more effort when the game got a bit rough, when we lost our heads a little bit. There are still some areas that we could work on, but overall, for sure-I'm happy with this win."
Sophomore fly-half Evan Straight opened the scoring for the Redmen midway through the first half with two quick tries. His first came at the end of some neat back work, as the Redmen methodically worked their way across the try line.
The stars for the Redmen, however, were Davis and prop Ian Turner, an exchange student from Brisbane, Australia. The duo scored three of McGill's next four tries, and Turner handled all of the conversions for the Redmen, hitting seven of 10 attempts. Davis finished the game with 10 points, and Turner finished with 19, bringing his total this season to 37. Peter Klestov also scored two tries, and Samuel Skulsky, Bryce Thomassin, and Jonathan Glancy each scored one try to round out the scoring.
"We opened up a lot of holes in their back line," said Davis. "We were better conditioned than they were. Our forwards were cohesive with our backs, and it really showed in the last minutes of the game."
Though the game was essentially over by halftime, the Redmen refused to take their collective foot off of Sherbrooke's throat in the second half. Davis sprang free for several long runs in the game's waning minutes, which led to three late tries.
"When we would get up [on our opponents] in previous games, we tended to get a little lackadaisical and we would fail to execute," said junior winger Stefan Rinas, who didn't score on Sunday but leads the Redmen with six tries on the season. "But this time, for the full 80 minutes, we got creative and we had a lot of fun."
Head Coach Sean McCaffrey used the opportunity to fine-tune his team's play leading up to the playoffs, which start on November 2.
"The plan was to get some new guys in there and to work on our overall offence which we've been working on all year," McCaffrey said. "We have a couple of strategies going forward and we're just trying to fine-tune and polish them."
With one more win McGill will have clinched first-place in the Quebec league. But the league championship is only part of the puzzle this season. After a QSSF champion is crowned, the winner of the Maritimes conference will visit the Quebec champion for an "East Championship." Nationals were cancelled earlier this season, so the Maritimes game will be the biggest of the year.
Based on the level that the Redmen are playing at, you can pencil McGill in for that championship game, to be played the weekend of November 14 to 16. The Redmen's next game is at home against Concordia on Sunday, October 19, at 1 p.m.
2008 Woodie Awards
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