Day 1 Recap: Canadian University Rugby 7s Championships
Peter Reimer- RMC
Rugby 7s Senior Women, Rugby 7s Senior Men
KINGSTON, ONT. (March 22, 2019) – Action started at the Men’s 2019 Canadian University Rugby Sevens Championship on Friday evening, with each team playing three matches in their respective pools before entering the playoff round on Saturday. Bishop’s and Concordia were the only teams to avoid a loss on the opening day of competition in the KMCSC Dome in Kingston.
Playoff action begins at 8:00 AM EST on Saturday, with the finals set for 3:20 PM EST. Check out the bracket for Saturday’s playoffs HERE.
Bishop’s and Concordia Go Undefeated on Day 1
Top Scorers
37 – Ben Russell (Quebec Selects)
30 – Connor Jaques (Queen’s)
23 – Mitch Voralek (Waterloo)
20 – Darius Steffler (Waterloo) / Joshua Engelbrecht (Queen’s)
15 – Kadim Cox (York) / Andre Gericke (Saskatchewan)
Pool A
1. Concordia: 3-0 (+51)
2. Guelph: 2-1 (+67)
3. York: 1-2 (-53)
4. STU: 0-3 (-68)
The Concordia Stingers beat Guelph, York, and STU in their pool, squeaking past the Gryphons in a 10-7 match, which was the closest game of the tournament. Other than the loss to Concordia, Guelph hammered their opponents, ending pool play with a higher point differential than the top-seeded Concordia. In the battle of the bottom, York beat STU 15-10, but the five-point victory was not enough to qualify the Lions for the Cup quarterfinals – they finished as the third-seed with the worst point differential, so were relegated to the Challenge Trophy semifinals.
Concordia 29 : 7 York
Guelph 39 : 5 STU
Concordia 10 : 7 Guelph
York 15 : 10 STU
Guelph 36 : 0 York
Concordia 31 : 5 STU
Pool B
1. Bishop’s: 3-0 (+60)
2. Queen’s: 2-1 (+62)
3. Regina: 1-2 (-51)
4. Trent: 0-3 (-71)
Bishop’s had a great start to the tournament, blanking a highly touted Queen’s team 12-0 after a try-saving tackle with a minute to go in their match. Through two games, Bishop’s still hadn’t surrendered a point, shutting out Regina 22-0, before Trent finally managed a single try against the top team in a 33-5 match. Queen’s responded in their remaining games, not allowing a single point against while putting up a combined 74 points wins over Trent and Regina. Trent finished with the worst point differential in the tournament, while Regina managed to qualify for the Cup quarterfinals, sitting just two points ahead of York.
Bishop’s 12 : 0 Queen’s
Regina 17 : 12 Trent
Bishop’s 20 : 0 Regina
Queen’s 38 : 0 Trent
Bishop’s 33 : 5 Trent
Queen’s 36 : 0 Regina
Pool C
1. Waterloo: 2-0-1 (+33)
2. Quebec Selects: 2-0-1 (+27)
3. Saskatchewan: 1-2 (-3)
4. RMC: 0-3 (-55)
Pool C had the closest competition across the board, with Waterloo and the Quebec Selects tying in their match to sit level with each other at the top of the Pool standings. The Warriors 27-7 victory over Saskatchewan gave Waterloo the point differential they needed to earn the top seed, while the Quebec Selects sit second in the pool heading into the playoffs. Saskatchewan is the highest ranked third seed thanks to their -3 point differential, while the host RMC Paladins will play for the Challenge trophy on Saturday as the fourth-seed from the final Pool.
Quebec Selects 21 : 15 Saskatchewan
Waterloo 28 : 15 RMC
Waterloo 27 : 7 Saskatchewan
Quebec Selects 26 : 7 RMC
Waterloo 17 : 17 Quebec Selects
Saskatchewan 28 : 5 RMC