MONTREAL -- Monty Weatherall scored a game-high 13 points as McGill mastered the Montreal Carabins 48-6 before a sold-out crowd to open the RSEQ men's rugby team season, Saturday.

It was the highest offensive output for McGill since a 50-0 whitewash over visiting École de technologie supérieure (ETS) in a league semifinal on Nov. 6, 2015.  Due to COVID and staffing protocols, ticket sales were capped at 1,020 for the contest and sold out days before the event, which was played at Percival Molson Stadium. It was the largest attendance ever for a regular season rugby game at McGill. The only larger crowd on record was 1,560 in an exhibition contest in 2019, when McGill defeated Harvard 47-15 in the Covo Cup.

The victory was worth three points in conference standings as the Redbirds registered a bonus point by tallying seven tries, three above the minimum total to qualify. It marked the most tries scored in a game by McGill since Sept. 11, 2016, when the team struck for eight in a 46-3 home-field conquest over Concordia. 

"When we play to our game plan, we put ourselves in very good field position," said Ian Baillie, in his eighth season as head coach at McGill. "After settling in early, we capitalized on our territorial advantage. The forward pack played very well, dominating the set-pieces and providing us with lots of possession time.

"U de M played strong midfield defence, which slowed down our attack. It took us some time to adjust but that's the way is goes this early in the season. Overall, I was very pleased with our performance. There were lots of very good bits but we have plenty to work on during practice this week."

The Redbirds led 22-6 at halftime and added 26 unanswered points in the second stanza. The result was McGill's largest margin of victory over their cross-town rivals. McGill has now won five consecutive meetings with the Carabins, improving their head-to-head record to 10-4 lifetime.

Weatherall, a six-foot, 183-pound fly-half who also serves as a back-up kicker with the McGill football team, converted five of  seven tries and connected on one of two penalty kicks. The international development studies junior hails from Amersham, in the UK.

Brad Hunger of Beaconsfield, Que., paced all try scorers with a pair. His older brother Karl Hunger added one, with other tries coming from Owen Cumming of Toronto, Basil Schincariol of Vancouver, B.C., Martin Laval of Hong Kong and Matt Pein, a native of the UK.

Montrealer Antonin Mayne scored all six points for the Carabins, connecting on a pair of penalty goals.

Montreal (0-1) will host ETS (0-1) on Sept. 25. The Redbirds (1-0) have a bye in the schedule and will return to action on Sept. 25, when they play ETS at Collège Notre-Dame in a 6 p.m. start.

SCORING SUMMARY
McGill Redbirds 48, Montreal Carabins 6

FIRST HALF:
1. McG: Monty Weatherall (PENALTY-KICK), 15' (McGill leads 3-0)
2. MTL: Antonin Mayne (PENALTY-KICK), 21' (tie 3-3)
3. McG: Brad Hunger (TRY; CONVERSION by Monty Weatherall), 24' (McGill 10-3)
5. McG: Karl Hunger (TRY; convert missed by Monty Weatherall), 29' (McGill 15-3)
6. MTL: Antonin Mayne (PENALTY-KICK), 34' (McGill 15-6)
7. McG: Matthew Pein (TRY; CONVERSION by Monty Weatherall), 37' (McGill 22-6)

SECOND HALF:
8. McG: Owen Cumming (TRY; CONVERSION by Monty Weatherall), 45' (McGill 29-6)
9. McG: Martin Laval (TRY; convert missed by Monty Weatherall), 48' (McGill 34-6)
10.McG: Brad Hunger (TRY; CONVERSION by Monty Weatherall), 63' (McGill 41-6)
11.McG: Basil Schincariol (TRY; CONVERSION by Monty Weatherall), 75' (McGill 48-6)

OFFICIAL SCORESHEET (PDF)

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Off.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca