Queen’s Men’s Rugby made its final regular season game count, securing home-field advantage for the OUA quarterfinals.
The Gaels defeated the Trent Excaliburs 33-15 at Nixon Field on Oct. 16 as part of Queen’s Homecoming 100 celebrations. The win brought Queen’s regular season record to 4-2 and secured a home playoff matchup against the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins on Oct. 25.
Coming into the game, Queen’s had won two consecutive matches, including a 55-17 victory over Waterloo on Oct. 3 and a 45-7 road win against Brock on Oct. 10.
With a home quarterfinal on the line, the Gaels carried that momentum into Friday’s game against Trent.
Queen’s took control early, scoring 26 unanswered points in the first half to establish a lead that Trent would struggle to overcome.
Angus Dewar, ArtSci ’27, led the Gaels with three tries, accounting for 15 of Queen’s 33 points. Cameron Bubyn, CompSci ’27, and Trekker James, ArtSci ’27, each added a try.
Lucas Townsend, Comm ’28, converted four of Queen’s five tries, contributing another eight points to the Gaels’ total.
Trent responded in the second half, scoring 15 points, but Queen’s added another converted try to maintain its lead and finish with an 18-point victory.
The result marked Queen’s third consecutive win following its 33-22 loss to Western on Sept. 26. Over those final three games, the Gaels outscored their opponents 133-39, finishing the regular season with four wins and two losses.
The Journal sat down with fourth Oliver Davis, ArtSci ’27, about the teams expectations going into playoffs.
Davis credits the night game versus Trent as something that fuels the team.
“Having a game in that environment is perfect for us,” Davis said. “We’re a team that thrives having a bunch of people at games.”
Going into a playoff matchup against RMC, Davis outlines the challenges the Paladins pose to the Gaels.
“They’re the grittiest team that I think I’ve ever played against,” Davis said. “They’re a tough group of guys, so what we’re keeping in mind this week is how to manage a game with guys that are probably the strongest and [most] aggressive that we’ve played all year.”
Queen’s will host RMC in the OUA quarterfinal on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. at Nixon Field, with the winner advancing to the semifinals scheduled for Oct. 31.
Tags
Men's rugby, OUA, OUA playoffs, Queen's Rugby
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