MONTREAL -- Rookie Gaspard Poire came off the bench to score a pair of second-half tries as visiting McGill overcame a sluggish start and coasted to a 29-7 victory over École de technologie supérieure, better known as ETS, in Quebec university men's rugby action before about 500 spirited fans at College Notre Dame, Saturday evening.
 
McGill, which only led 7-0 at halftime, outscored the Piranhas 22-7 in the second half.

"We had a poor start," said McGill head coach Ian Baillie. "ETS put a lot of pressure on us on a set-piece and there was a breakdown. We didn't react well and didn't get into our structure early on, so the first half was quite a dogfight. We were better organized in the second half but got into a bit of penalty trouble that gave ETS some decent territory to attack from. But in the later stages of the game, we really got on the front foot. We found some spaces and gaps in their defence and were able to exploit them."
 
The Redbirds improved their regular season record to 2-0 and earned a bonus point in the standings, which is awarded to teams that score four tries or more in a game. ETS dropped to fifth-place in the seven-team RSEQ conference with a 1-2 record.
 
Poiré, an economics freshman from Versailles, in France, was making his McGill rugby debut. The 5-foot-9 fly-half tallied a pair of late tries.

"We put him into the lineup for the first time, with about 25 minutes to play," said Baillie. "He had a few good touches with the ball and a couple of electrifying runs, including a 40-metre scamper on his first one."

Other try scorers for the Redbirds were Blaise Benoit, a sophomore fullback from Vancouver, B.C., and Neos Dionisopoulos, a third-year prop from Westmount, Que.

Rounding out the scoring was fly-half Monty Weatherall, a junior from England, who tallied nine points, making three conversions and a penalty-kick.
 
Gabriel Marios scored the lone try for ETS, which was converted by Paul Arditti.
 
The game was a physical affair that featured three yellow cards and an automatic red. McGill's Karl Hunger was ejected late the second half after drawing his second caution. A new rule this year forces a team to play a man short for 10 minutes for every card issued.
 
Players of the game, selected by the opposing coaches, were McGill flanker Thomas Richards and Jules Normandin of ETS.
 
Both teams return to action next Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. ETS plays at Sherbrooke (0-2), while McGill travels across town to confront Concordia (2-1) in a much-awaited rematch of the 2019 league championship game. It will also mark the second Dave Hardy Cup game, named after a well-respected coach, who had stints at both institutions. Hardy served as bench boss at McGill from 1982 to 1989 and later was an assistant coach at Concordia.
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
GAME STATS & DRESS-LIST

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