MONTREAL – Alexandre Laurendeau was named rookie of the year and among seven all-stars from McGill University as the men's rugby award winners have been released by the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec after a voting process that involved head coaches from all eight teams.
 
Laurendeau was a one of 15 honourees named to the first-team, along with teammates Monty Weatherall, Owen Cumming and Gaspard Poiré. Members of the Redbirds to make the second squad were Alex Pantis, Martin Laval and Brad Hunger.
 
Concordia's Thomas Artmann-Sherren merited player of the year honours, while Gelel Rezig of ETS won the leadership award and Nic Clapinson of third-place Bishop's was picked as coach of the year.
 
The third-place ETS Piranhas led all schools with eight all-stars, although only one of them was on the first team. McGill was next with seven, followed by Bishop's (6), Ottawa (4), Concordia (4) and Montreal (1).
 
Laurendeau, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound winger from Ormstown, Que., who never played organized rugby before 2022, scored four tries in five regular season games. In the playoffs, the 21-year-old industrial relations freshman added a pair of tries, including the game-winning major as McGill defeated Ottawa 31-24 to capture the RSEQ championship before a record crowd of 1,830 at Percival Molson Stadium. He was twice selected as player of the game, earning the honours in a 52-5 victory over Sherbrooke and in the league championship contest. Laurendeau was also named as both, McGill and RSEQ athlete of the week on Nov. 8.
 
Weatherall, a six-foot, 183-pound fly-half from Amersham, in England, tied for the RSEQ league scoring title. The 22-year-old international development studies senior scored 63 points in seven games, with one try, four penalty kicks and 23 conversions. He was named three times by opposing coaches as McGill's player of the game, including back-to-back contests, earning the honour in a 24-17 win over Concordia and a 34-10 victory over Montreal. His third Game MVP award was in a 20-18 semifinal victory over Bishop's.
 
Cumming, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound scrum-half from Toronto who , scored two tries in six games. The 22-year-old was named as McGill's player of the game in a 31-19 win over Ottawa. A fifth-year senior, he is majoring in political science, with a minor in communications and Canadian studies. Cumming, who was also a second-team all-star last season, made the Dean's List, qualified for the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll and was a 2021 recipient of the University's Jean Béliveau Athletic Award for leadership. He served as co-president of the McGill squad and won the team's Joe Hanaway Gentleman's Award last season.
 
Poiré, a 5-foot-9, 169-pound fullback, hails from Versailles, in France. The 20-year-old economics sophomore missed two games due to injury and had no points in five regular season contests.
 
Pantis, a 5-foot-7, 225-pound tight-head prop from Beaconsfield, Que., finished second on the team and sixth in the league scoring race with 40 points.  He ranked second among RSEQ try leaders with eight in seven games. The 26-year-old is a grad student in environmental biology who has returned after graduating with an arts degree in economics and political science.
 
Laval, a 5-foot-11, 182-pound winger from Hong Kong, was third on the team and ninth in the RSEQ scoring race with 36 points in seven games. The 20-year-old tallied one try, five conversions and a league-leading seven penalty kicks. A management junior, majoring in mathematics, he was named as McGill's player of the game in a 36-3 victory over Bishop's.
 
Hunger, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound second row starter from Beaconsfield, Que. He is a 21-year-old sophomore in international development studies. Hunger was named as McGill's player of the game in a 30-24 win over the ETS Piranhas. He missed two games due to injury and had no points in five regular season contests.
 
 

2022 RSEQ MEN'S RUGBY AWARDS & ALL-STARS / Honneurs individuels - RSEQ 2022

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR / Athlète par excellence

Thomas Artmann Sherren, Concordia

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR / Recrue de l'année

Alexandre Laurendeau, McGill

COACH OF THE YEAR / Entraîneur de l'année

Nic Clapinson, Bishop's

LEADERSHIP & CITIZENSHIP AWARD / Prix leadership et engagement social

Gelel Rezig, ETS

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS / Première équipe d'étoiles

Matt Shufelt, Bishop's

Louis Millet, Bishop's

Jack Wallace, Bishop's

Marshall Mather, Bishop's

Kyle Corrigan, Bishop's

Jack Shaw, Bishop's

Owen Cumming, McGill

Monty Weatherall, McGill

Alexandre Laurendeau, McGill

Gaspard Poire, McGill

Theo Espagnol, Ottawa

Evan Roy, Ottawa

Jacob Harries, Ottawa

Éloi Pinon, ETS

Thomas Artmann Sherren, Concordia

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS / Deuxième équipe d'étoiles

Pierre Le Chartier, ETS

Brahim Mahmoudi, ETS

Paul Arditti, ETS

Tristan Chauvel, ETS

Jules Normandin, ETS

Théo Damour, ETS

Tom Saurin, ETS

Alex Pantis, McGill

Brad Hunger, McGill

Martin Laval, McGill

Calvin Mazloum, Concordia

Victor Dion, Concordia

Stanislas Blazkowski, Concordia

Jonathan Aicardi, Montréal

Connor Billo, Ottawa

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