This month, the Queen’s men’s rugby team battled to earn a top-5 finish at the national level.
From Nov. 12 to 16, the Gaels competed in Montreal, QC., at the Canadian Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC). The team finished fifth, winning the consolation bracket over the Université de Montréal Carabins after losing their opening quarterfinal match to the University of Victoria.
The tournament opened with a setup that was extremely familiar for Queen’s. Last year, the Gaels entered the championship just days after a heartbreaking OUA final loss to the Guelph Gryphons, and found themselves facing off against Victoria in the quarterfinal. That year, Queen’s went on a tear, beating Victoria and getting revenge on Guelph in the semifinal before dropping the final against the École de technologie supérieure Piranhas.
The setup was the same for Queen’s this year, coming off a tough loss to Guelph in the OUA final the week prior, and finding themselves lining up across Victoria in the quarterfinal once again.
At first, the game was extremely tight, featuring an intense back-and-forth for the first 15 minutes amidst the snow in Montreal. In the 16th minute, though, Victoria broke through the Gaels’ defence to take the first lead of the match at 5-0.
Within 15 minutes, Queen’s formed their response, thanks to a blazing run up the middle by Trekker James, ArtSci ’26, followed by a strong effort by Tao Nichol, Sci ’26, to earn the try. The ensuing conversion by Marcus D’Acre, ArtSci ’26, gave the Gaels a 7-5 lead headed into halftime.
That would be Queen’s only lead of the game, and their only try. In the second half, the Gaels battled, but the game was all Victoria, who piled on four tries and a penalty kick in the second half to crush the Gaels by a score of 36-7.
While the defeat eliminated Queen’s from the championship bracket, the CUMRC has a consolation bracket to determine the rest of the rankings at the national level. The nature of the tournament gave no time to sulk, either, with the consolation semifinal taking place just two days after their last game.
Queen’s faced the Dalhousie University Tigers, the championship’s lone representative from the Atlantic. Queen’s dominated, winning 38-17, thanks to another strong performance by Nichol, who was named Player of the Game after scoring two tries. D’Acre converted four of his six attempts, while veterans James and Owen Lee, Comm ’26, added tries. Emerging stars Coen Quinn, Sci ’28, and Evan Palmer, ArtSci ’29, added tries of their own, making their mark on the national stage.
The victory set the stage for a consolation showdown against Montreal, which finished 2nd in Quebec. Despite it being their third game in five days, Queen’s showed no signs of slowing down, conceding just one try en-route to a dominant 43-5 victory.
It was another showcase for Nichol, who scored two tries for the second game in a row. D’Acre also had an extremely strong all-around showing, converting four attempts to earn Player of the Game. With the game serving as Queen’s final game of the year, head coach John Lavery made sure to give the keys to his senior players. James joined veterans Adam Doyle, Kin ’26, Ben Falkner, CompSci ’26, and Michael Gyles, ArtSci ’26 on the scoresheet. Sophomore standout Jett Nesrallah, ArtSci ’28, also made his mark with a try of his own.
It may have been a bittersweet tournament for the Gaels, but the triumph despite the opening loss means that Queen’s have been a top 5 team nationally in both of Lavery’s years as head coach.
The championship was home to some significant individual awards as well. During the tournament, D’Acre was honoured as Player of the Year and a First Team All-Canadian, with the nod at the national level coming after he was named Player of the Year at the OUA level. Jackson Palmer was honoured with an Lt. Colonel WDC Holmes Award, given to a player from each team at the championship nominated by their coach for “off-field contributions to the game of rugby at their university and community,” according to the CUMRC website.
After the tournament, Quinn’s strong performances earned him a nod as a 2nd Team Tournament All-Star.
Queen’s was forced to compete without stars Bauer Mercer, ArtSci ’26, and Connor Hay, ArtSci ’26 who were unavailable due to injury. The team won’t be back in action until next September, when they’ll seek to embark on another journey to earn success at the OUA and CUMRC levels.
Tags
Canadian Men's Rugby Championship, CUMRC, nationals, rugby
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