MONTREAL – Martin Laval, a master’s student from Biarritz, Que., was instrumental in leading McGill to a decisive 30-10 victory over Concordia in the men’s rugby regular season opener. The match took place before a lively crowd of 1,127 at Percival Molson Stadium on Saturday, marking the fifth Dave Hardy Cup rivalry game.
This win represents the second consecutive triumph for the Redbirds over Concordia, who previously experienced a nine-match losing streak against their city rivals. Both victories for McGill have occurred in Hardy Cup play after losing the initial three confrontations for the Cup against Concordia. The Cup is named in honor of Dave Hardy, who coached at both universities, serving as head coach at McGill from 1982 to 1989 and later as an assistant at Concordia.
Laval performed exceptionally well, scoring 15 points by successfully converting three penalty kicks and all three tries made by McGill. The home team established an early lead of 7-0 and maintained a dominant 20-3 edge at halftime, eventually winning the second half 10-5.
The first try for McGill was scored by a first-year MBA student from Halifax in the 28th minute, followed by a try in the 38th minute from a veteran player who graduated in 2023 and is now studying dentistry. William Simpson, a history junior from the U.K., capped off the scoring with a try in the 74th minute that advanced McGill’s lead to 30-3.
Concordia managed to narrow the gap to 6-3 with a penalty kick in the ninth minute, but they remained largely ineffective until the game’s final moment when Cameron Harte scored a try, converted by Philip Hacala.
McGill (1-0) will next face the Montreal Carabins (9-0) on Friday the 13th at 8:30 p.m. at UdeM’s Terrain Vincent d’Indy. Concordia (0-1) is set to host Ottawa (1-0) on September 15 at 3 p.m. Ottawa is the defending RSEQ conference champion after finishing second in the previous season with a 4-2 record and upsetting the undefeated ETS in the championship match.