“As always against ETS, it was a hard-fought battle”
The two titans of RSEQ — the U of O Gee-Gees and ETS Piranhas — matched up in the RSEQ championship for the second year in a row. The Gees looked to defend their title from last year’s clutch performance from Glenn Roy. The game was hard fought from both teams in a brutal battle for the RSEQ championship, but eventually the game would be taken by the league rivals ETS 19-14.
In the 11th minute, the Piranhas would work the ball up in close to the Gees try line, and would be rushed in by Mathieu Bory to start the scoring of the RSEQ mens rugby finals, the conversion was good from Paul Arditti and the Piranhas would go up 7-0. The Gees would have a tough time reaching the Piranhas try line, spending five minutes within 20 yards of the Piranhas zone.
Out of nowhere in the 33rd minute, the Gees Gordie Evans would pick off the Piranhas and rush it home without a doubt, the conversion from Glenn Roy was good to tie the game at 7-7. However, minutes later ETS would respond with a try from Xabi Chrit, the conversion from Arditti was good and ETS would take the lead back 14-7, and the first half was history.
The Gees defended well starting out the second half, holding off two crucial attacks from ETS. They would look to even the score early if they wanted a chance at going back to back RSEQ champions. ETS would hold the majority of possession starting off the second half. Putting lots of pressure on the Gees. The Gees fly-half Jamie Armstrong would get a clutch tackle from a breakout play from ETS, then clearing out the ball from danger.
The half remained scoreless and ETS would still hold the lead 14-7. After a great recovered kick from Armstrong, the Gees were granted a 10-yard penalty in close. From many rushing attempts within five yards of the ETS try line, it was the tank Evan Roy pushing through for a Gees try; the conversion from his brother was good to tie the game up 14-14 with a little under 20 minutes remaining.
The Gees would hold off ETS on the line with 15 minutes remaining as they forfeited a penalty, keeping the Gees hopes alive. ETS would be in close once again in the final minutes of the game, and a clutch ETS try would be scored by Axel Britz, the conversion was no good, 19-14 for ETS. The Gees would have to get a quick try and a conversion if they wanted a chance to win.
In extra time, the Gees were rushing in quick with five yards of the ETS line, but would be knocked on the ETS line, and the Gees would lose the ball and their final chance of scoring. The game would end in devastation for the Gees from an unfortunate knock-on, and ETS would get their revenge in the RSEQ finals against the Gees.
Although the team lost the RSEQ, they are still contenders for this year’s national championship, which the Gees will host at the end of next week. They will have to battle in the most competitive tournament, against Canada’s top university teams. Perhaps the two rival teams will meet up once more.
When asked about the game, head coach James Flemming said “As always against ETS, it was a hard-fought battle. Ultimately, they executed a bit more than us, and were rewarded. At half we chatted about some tweaks to the attack and variation in the lineout. I was proud of their defensive efforts throughout.”
Looking forward to the national championship, Flemming continued “I’m excited to see who we get to play at Nationals. It’s nice to have it at home, but I think the guys are looking forward to playing again more than anything.”
The Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship is right around the corner, from Nov 13-17 in Ottawa.
