Not even the horrible October weather could save the Guelph Gryphons last Friday.
The men’s rugby team left them in the dust with a 31-5 win at Kingston Field.
First-year fly half Liam Underwood scored two tries and added a conversion for 12 points on the day.
Head coach Peter Huigenbos said the game was an opportunity for new players to get experience playing for the first team.
“Everyone who started today earned that right and had been playing well through our second and third sides this season, and I wanted them to get a game at this level to prepare them for the rest of the season and beyond,” he said.
Both teams were guilty of multiple errors, a point Huigenbos said he wasn’t pleased with.
“It was a wet, sloppy game,” he said. “Too many knock-ons by both teams, poor ing. Not a very pleasant game to watch or be part of.”
After the first half, the Gaels went back to the huddle with the score closer than anyone expected at 19-5 for the Tricolour. Winger Zach Pancer said the team’s early problems came from not playing as a unit.
“I think we relied a bit on individual talent rather than teamwork at the start,” he said. “At halftime we got together, re-organized, came back out and played as a team in the second half and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Second-row James Rees said it took time for the new players to gel into the squad.
“We came together in the end and got the points, we had to up our game they were a good hard opponent,” he said. “Not our style, though, we couldn’t move the ball as wide as we’d like to but we ended up getting the W.”
The Gaels, who haven’t lost a regular-season game since 2007, travel to St. Catharine’s tomorrow where they’ll face the 4-1 Brock Badgers, who beat Queen’s in the final two years ago.
“They’re always one of the best sides,” Rees said. “It’s one of the toughest road games we’re going to play all year. Honestly, we’re just going to have our heads on straight.”
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].