McGill 43 @ Bishops 17
September 5, 2008
LENNOXVILLE, QC
Making even more improvements off of a their victory against Dartmouth College last weekend, McGill's 2nd's side defeated the Bishops Gaiters 43-17 Friday.
The Redmen got off to a frustrating start, with several penalties and knock-ons breaking up play and slowing the team from getting into their game. Still, McGill continued to put pressure on Bishops, playing mostly in the opposition half.
A well executed set piece saw Jeremy Grant make a piercing run through the Gaiters' defense, only to have his inside pass to Gideon Balloch judged forward. Instead, it was open-side wing Akira Gillingham who was to open the scoring for the Redmen, racing 60 meters for the try after another set-piece move found him unmarked out wide. The Redmen advanced to seven points up as Gideon Balloch added the conversion.
The restart saw McGill with the ball in their 22. Minutes later yet another gap in the Gaiters' defense was broken, this time by lock Graeme Kempthorne. Once through, Kempthorne hit the gas and, with Gaiter's chasers unable to bring him down, Kempthorne touched down under the posts.
Keeping the pressure up, McGill spent much of the rest of the half in the opposition half, picking up a try from first-year prop Andrew Stephens. From a scrum ten metres off the Gaiter's try-line came the Redmen's final try of the half, with eight-man Rilen Spencer peeling off the scrum with the ball and hitting a gap to score.
The Gaiters hit hard in the second half, bringing the ball right up to the McGill try-line within minutes. Hard McGill defense could not hold off a Bishops try. The next few minutes proved the closest for the game, with the Redmen and Gaiter's trading possession and tries.
The Redmen got back into their groove after a quarter, though, and on a Bishops scrum just inside the Gaiters' 22, McGill's pack won the ball, leaving halfback Dan Levin to pull to the blind and dance through the defense for a corner try.
Continuous support and quick ball proved to be motifs throughout the rest of the match, with the Redmen picking up two other tries and the forwards proving their worth throughout, picking up five of the night's seven tries.
Bishops' 2nd side will be coming to Montreal for a rematch on September 14. Come and cheer for your McGill Redmen as they look to beat the Gaiter's once again!
Halftime: 24 - 0
Fulltime: 43 - 17
Man of the Match: Josh Balloch
Points: Andrew Stephens (2t), Graeme Kempthorne (2t), Rilen Spencer (1t), Akira Gillingham (1t), Dan Levin (1t), Gideon Balloch (4c)
Match Review by Josh Balloch