RECAP: Men’s rugby progresses to RSEQ Final
A stolen lineout by Wahid Hamidi sealed a historic, first ever RSEQ playoff win for the Gee-Gees men's rugby program.
Ottawa bested the ÉTS Piranhas 31-24 Saturday afternoon before a packed Matt Anthony Field. They'll face McGill in Montreal on Friday, Nov. 4 for a spot in the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship.
Jamie Armstrong, Theo Espagnol, Wade Marshall, Graeme Neill-Klein and Glenn Roy all scored tries for Ottawa, with Zak Campbell going 3-for-5 on converts.
"It was the first home semi in the history of the team, but it doesn't mean anything unless you come out and win," said Gee-Gees head coach Andrew Armstrong. "It was actually a game we were expected to win as the two seed. I would say maybe we weren't at our best, but credit to ÉTS they're a tough team. At this stage of the season everyone's good."
Ottawa led from wire-to-wire, but it was a close game down the stretch. After opening a 19-0 advantage early, the Piranhas responded with 14 unanswered points to make it a 19-14 score at halftime.
The Gee-Gees came out firing after the break, but ÉTS once again mounted a comeback, getting the score to 31-24. With a Piranha lineout roughly 25 yards from the try line, the ball sailed over everyone's head and into the hands of Hamidi. A few moments later, Jamie Armstrong booted the ball out of bounds to seal the victory.
"It's a slightly short week," said Andrew Armstrong. "I think we're healthy, which is amazing. We lost to them week two in a pretty close game, and I'm happy we'll get another crack at them."
Ottawa was 0-2 in their previous playoff matchups, which were road affairs against McGill and Concordia. They have yet to lose to ÉTS in RSEQ play, improving to 5-0.
The Gee-Gees lone loss this season remains to the McGill Redbirds, but Ottawa can exercise some demons next week at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
The RSEQ Final will take place the evening of Friday, Nov. 4. It will be streamed on McGill's Yare TV channel, for the price of $6.99.