MONTREAL – Martin Laval scored a game-high 16 points as the McGill men's rugby team cruised to a dominating 36-3 victory over Bishop's to wrap up regular season play, Sunday, at Percival Molson Stadium.
 
McGill finished atop the eight-team RSEQ conference with a 6-1 record, for the  second  consecutive divisional pennant. The teams were tied 3-3 before the Redbirds exploded for 33 unanswered points.
 
Elliot Descarreaux tallied a last-minute  try for the team's fourth of the day, resulting in a bonus point in the standings. It marked the sixth time in seven league games that McGill had earned a bonus point. The Redbirds had an identical dossier with Ottawa (6-1) but finished one point ahead on the strength of a 6-5 advantage in bonus points compared to the Gee-Gees.
 
Monty Weatherall was called upon to kick the final convert attempt on the last try but his near miss, from a sharp angle around the 24-yard marker, cost him the RSEQ scoring title. He ended up with 63 points in seven contests, tied with Tom Saurin of ETS, who played two less games.
 
Laval, a 5-foot-11, 182-pound outside centre, had four penalty kicks and a pair of conversions to account for 44 per cent of McGill's points in the game. The 20-year-old management and mathematics junior finished eighth in the RSEQ scoring race with 36 points overall, which ranked third-best among McGill leaders.
 
Rounding out the scoring for McGill was Alexandre Laurendeau with a pair of tries and Alexander Armstrong with one major.
 
The lone Gaiters points came from fly-half Louis Millet, whose penalty kick knotted the score at 3-3 in the 25th minute.

The same teams will return to the scene of the crime for an RSEQ sudden-death semifinal on Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. Tickets, which are available  online only, go on sale Tuesday. The other semifinal, slated for Saturday at 3 p.m., will feature third-place ETS (5-2) playing at second-place Ottawa (6-1).
 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 36, Bishop's 3

First Half:

1. McG: Martin Laval (Penalty Kick) 11' (McGill 3-0)
2. BSH: Axel Montgomery (Penalty Kick MISSED) 25'
3. BSH: Axel Montgomery (Penalty Kick) 37' (tied 3-3)
4. McG: Alexandre Laurendeau (TRY; converted by Martin Laval) 38' (McGill 10-3)

 
Second Half:

5. McG: Martin Laval (Penalty Kick) 46' (McGill 13-3)
6. BSH: Axel Montgomery (Penalty Kick MISSED) 48'
7. McG: Alexander Armstrong (TRY; converted by Martin Laval) 53' (McGill 20-3)
8. McG: Martin Laval (Penalty Kick) 58' (McGill 23-3)
9. McG: Martin Laval (Penalty Kick) 62' (McGill 26-3)
10. McG: Alexandre Laurendeau (TRY; convert MISSED by Martin Laval) 71' (McGill 31-3)
11. McG: Elliot Descarreax (TRY; convert MISSED by Monty Weatherall) 78' (McGill 36-3)

RSEQ STANDINGS

RSEQ SCORING LEADERS

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca