MONTREAL – The RSEQ conference champion McGill Redbirds will confront the Laurier Golden Hawks is a sudden-death quarter-final, Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. (Eastern), at the fifth annual Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship. The five-day tournament will be held at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium, located at their Point Grey campus in Vancouver, B.C.  
 
All games will be streamed for free, both live and on demand, at The Rugby Network.
 
The tournament consists of eight teams from the four university conferences across the country including the Canada West (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Atlantic University Sport (AUS), and Reseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).

Each team will play three games spread over five days (Wednesday, Friday,  Sunday) beginning with the quarter-finals on Day 1. Winners advance to the championship side of the draw, while the losing teams are relegated to a consolation round.

This will mark the first-ever appearance at Nationals for the McGill club, which is celebrating it's 150th year of existence, and is seeded fifth in the tourney. Laurier, the OUA silver medalists, is seeded fourth.
 
Wednesday's other quarter-final matchups include top-seeded Victoria and No.8 Trinity Western University (2 p.m.), No. 2 Guelph (OUA champs) against No. 7 Memorial (5 p.m.) and No. 3 UBC vs Nov. 6 Calgary (8 p.m.). All times listed are Eastern.
 
Should McGill defeat Laurier, they would meet the winner of the UBC-TWU contest.
 
UBC has won three of the four national titles since the CUMRC was initiated in 2017, including last year's 39-7 victory over Victoria in Kingston, Ont. The only other squad to be crowned champion was Victoria in 2019.
 
All eight teams get a day off before Friday's semifinal round, both in the consolation and championship side of the tournament bracket. The medal round is slated for Sunday, with the championship team receiving the Spence McTavish Trophy, named after the UBC rugby alumnus and former Canadian national team captain.
 
McGill enters the Nationals with an 8-1 record, including a 6-1 first-place finish in the eight-team RSEQ conference. The Redbirds swept the league playoffs with a 20-18 win over fourth-place Bishop's and a 31-24 victory over second-place Ottawa.
 
The lineup featured seven conference all-stars, including team captain Monty Weatherall, a flyhalf who tied for the league's scoring title with 63 points in seven regular season games. He merited RSEQ first team status, along with teammates Owen Cumming, Gaspard Poiré and Alexandre Laurendeau was named as the league's rookie of the year. A 6-foot-1, 215-pound winger from Ormstown, Que., the 21-year-old freshman scored four tries in five regular season games and added a pair of tallies, including the game-winner, in the RSEQ final. 

Members of the Redbirds to make the second all-conference squad were Alex Pantis, Martin Laval and Brad Hunger.
 
McGill's 46-man roster has been pared down to 26 for the Nationals. The expected dress-list features three freshmen, one sophomore, seven juniors and 15 seniors. That group is composed of 14 players from Quebec, three from Ontario, one from British Columbia, three from the United Kingdom, two from France and one apiece from China, Japan and the United States. The breakdown by faculty includes a dozen from Arts, four in Science, one in Arts & Science, three in Management, two in Engineering, one apiece in Education and Law, plus a pair of exchange students.

For all tournament details including ticket info and schedule please click the link to the official tournament landing page.
 
Broadcast Schedule (NOTE: All times listed Eastern Standard Time):
 
GAME SCHEDULES:
Click the game below to purchase tickets:

Wed., Nov. 30
2 pm Quarter Final 1 - Victoria vs Trinity Western
5 pm Quarter Final 2 - Guelph vs Memorial
8 pm Quarter Final 3- UBC vs Calgary
10:30 pm Quarter Final 4 - Laurier vs McGill

Fri., Dec. 2
2 pm Consolation Semi Final 1
5 pm Consolation Semi Final 2
8 pm Championship Semi Final 1
10:30 pm Championship Semi Final 2

Sun. Dec. 4
12 noon Consolation Final (7&8)
2 pm Consolation Final (5&6)
4 pm Bronze Medal Game - Awards Ceremony (Following the game)
6:30 pm Gold Medal Game - Awards Ceremony (Following the game)
 
Team Seedings:

1. Victoria
2. Guelph
3. UBC
4. Laurier
5. McGill
6. Calgary
7. Memorial
8. Trinity Western

Live streaming details
 
RSEQ STANDINGS & RESULTS
 
RSEQ ALL-STARS & AWARD WINNERS
 
McGILL SCORING LEADERS
 
McGILL TEAM ROSTER & TEAM PHOTO
 

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