Report Card
By Matt Chesser
(reprinted from The McGill Tribune)
Redmen Rugby: A
The next 200 words are going to be akin to verbal fellatio -- there is just nothing bad to say about the Redmen rugby squad's 2007 season.
The perennial powerhouse program cruised through an 8-0, undefeated regular season with an average margin victory of 45 points per game -- including an incredible 83 point victory over ETS. In fact, only once did McGill fail to defeat an opponent by more than 22 points: an early-season 10-6 win over the Sherbrooke Vert et Or.
The Red 'n' White domination continued into the playoffs, where McGill disposed of Concordia 25-10 to advance to the QSSF finals for the sixth consecutive season.
In the championship game against Bishop's, the Redmen encountered their first real adversity of the season, battling injuries to key players and, subsequently, falling behind 8-7 at half-time. But two early second-half tries by Dave Tontini led to a 31-13 victory and the squad's second consecutive QSSF championship.
The prospects for a third consecutive league title are encouraging, as the Redmen will likely return most of the key pieces from their championship-winning squad-minus captain Caleb Balloch and fly-half Adrian Thorogood.
The team's two top scorers, Alastair Crowe and Kyle Buckley, are in their freshmen and sophomore years, respectively, and should improve upon their league-leading totals from this season.
Tribune MVP: Alastair Crowe
Player to Watch: Jonathan Bell