McGill 51, Sherbrooke 10
Sherbrooke came out hard against a disorganized Redmen squad and scored early to take a surprising 7 point lead that would last for the majority of the first half. Several of McGill's stars watched on anxiously from the sidelines (many with hard earned hangovers) to rest for the next big matchup against Concordia. Fortunately, that was the only surprise that Sherbrooke could muster. McGill's defense quickly sorted itself out and spent the rest of the first half trying to get their groove back. A penalty kick from flyhalf Adrian Thorogood and a well earned forward's try by Prop Adam Sommers in the corner would put McGill ahead at half 8-7.
The second half saw our beloved Redmen return to the field with their heads screwed on and the fire in their bellies rekindled. A change of strategy with our forwards attacking the blindside allowed the forwards to wear down the opposing pack whilst giving the backs some room to work their magic. Prop Adam Sommer, 2nd Row Olivier Lavigueur, and 8-man Antoine Nestle would all strike in the second half mainly thanks to brilliant scrum play. Our centers and fullback began firing through the gaping Sherbrooke backline, and both of our wingers, Matt Legatt and Darius Chehrzad were able to send their looping flyhalf through for two tries. Number 10 also managed to put away 5 of 9 kicks and earn himself the epithet "Bad to the Bone" from McGill Athletics after accumulating 21 points on the day. Frank Hewitt also earned two tries with an inside crash and off of another gift-wrapped pass from Legatt to round off the scoring.
Adam Sommers decided to end the game in Caleb Ballochian style, perhaps out of pity for a bedraggled Sherbrooke side, and knocked on the ball during a potential try-scoring run before the final whistle. Good thing he scored those other two. Kyle "Hot and New Tee Boy" Buckley also used the occasion to prove his allroundedness with consistent and punctual tee delivery after each score.
Our club side also put together a convincing win, with a 55-0 trouncing of the Sherbrooke seconds team. More stunning victories to come from both sides.
"Bad to the Bone" Thorogood