RECAP: Men’s rugby beats undefeated Bishop’s, improves to 2-1 on season

The Gee-Gees men's rugby team were facing a steep test over the weekend in Lennoxville — up against an undefeated Bishop's Gaiters squad with a boisterous crowd backing them as part of the annual Homecoming Game.

Eighty minutes later, the Garnet and Grey passed with flying colours, as they battled to a 28-12 victory.

"Very proud of our performance at Bishop's Homecoming," said head coach Stephanie Crawley.  "We were physical and confident in the face of a large hostile crowd. Great to come out of that game with no injuries. 

"The experience bonded us as a team and we will be stronger moving forward. This was a huge win for us!" she enthused.

The Gee-Gees scored early and often, with Sam Mace's try opening the scoring just 13 minutes into the game. Jeff Radford's first try of the season soon doubled the lead in the 28th minute.

Conrad Hladik's first career try as a Gee-Gees came in the 36th minute, in time to build a 21-0 lead heading into the half.

"It was an incredible effort from every member of the team in a difficult game where older and younger guys all stepped up," Hladik said. "With it being our second road win, we are hoping to keep this momentum rolling into the second half of the season."

Bishop's sought to ignite a comeback, with a pair of tries early in the second half, but a try by Connor Williams late in the contest derailed all momentum, and secured the victory for the Gee-Gees.

The victory pushed the Gee-Gees into third place in the RSEQ standings at the halfway point of the season with a record of 2-1.

Up next, the Gee-Gees will travel to Montreal to take on the Carabins in their final road game of the season.

"This week we will be focusing on our defense and look forward to another road game at Montreal on Saturday," Crawley said.

The Gee-Gees will be squaring off against a Montreal squad with fresh legs following a bye-week. In their most recent game on September 22, they played to a 7-7 draw with ETS. Benjamin Hartley notched the only try for the Carabins in that contest, and currently leads all Carabins with two tries through three games this season.

Montreal has conceded a total of 48 points this season, third fewest in the RSEQ. Ottawa will look to counter with a balanced attack that has seen six different players score tries so far this season.

Ottawa will take on Montreal at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 5. The next Gee-Gees home game is slated for October 10 at 6 p.m. against McGill, tickets are available now at tickets.geegees.ca.