The Queen’s Men’s Rugby team welcomed the Brock Badgers to Nixon Field on Oct. 26, where a dominant performance on both offense and defence secured the Gaels a spot in the semi-final game on Nov. 2.
Captain Eric Godden, Sci ’25, kicked things off less than seven minutes into the contest, scoring the the Gaels’ first try. From that point forward, the Gaels kept their foot on the gas pedal, racking up an impressive 33 more points in the first half alone.
It was a beautiful try for the Gaels’ captain, punching home a 10-yard run after fooling the Badgers’ defenders with a fake .
Marcus D’Acre, ArtSci ’26, was nearly perfect all game, converting all but four of the Gaels’ 11 tries throughout the game, totalling 12 points on the night.
Connor Hay, ArtSci ’28, took over after the 10 minute mark, scoring two consecutive tries, with the second coming after an unbelievably powerful run from prop Bauer Mercer, ArtSci ’25.
On top of holding the Badgers to zero points in the first half, the Gaels were relentless offensively, with Daniel Svoboda, Kin ’25, and Trekker James, ArtSci ’26, also scoring tries, sending the Gaels out of the first half with a 38-point lead.
During the break, the team gathered around Head Coach John Lavery, all committed to maintaining pressure on the Badgers through the second half.
Post-game, Lavery commented on the improvements since their last encounter with Brock.
“I think the guys took away some really important learnings from the last time we played against Brock. They’re a big physical team, and I think they worked really hard in those key areas, especially on the defensive sides of the ball,” Lavery said in an interview with The Journal.
Little changed in of the Gaels approach as they entered the second half of the match.
Matthew Carroll, ArtSci ’27, Owen Lee, Comm ’26, Michael Gyles, Sci ’26, and Noah Gittens, Kin ’25, scored tries in the second half, with the Badgers’ lone try coming at the 55-minute mark.
The Gaels capped off the game with a decisive 67-5 victory, advancing to the semi-final on Nov. 2 in London, ON, where they’ll face their rivals, the Western Mustangs. Although the Gaels didn’t play Western this season, they hold a 14-4 all-time record against the Mustangs and are riding a five-game win streak against them.
Should the Gaels defeat the Mustangs, they will likely find themselves once again facing off against the first-place Guelph Gryphons in the OUA finals.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].