THIS WEEK: The Bishop's Gaiters men's rugby team heads to Montreal on Friday to take on the league-leading Concordia Stingers in the first leg of a season-ending home-and-home between the two sides. Kickoff at Concordia Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
THE RECORDS: The Gaiters come into the game with a 4-1 record, after they suffered their first loss of the season last week at McGill. Bishop's did salvage a bonus point from the contest, giving them 20 points on the season. Concordia is 5-0 on the year, with 24 points. The Stingers defeated Montreal 32-8 last week.
PLAYOFFS?: The Gaiters have clinched a home playoff game, either a quarterfinal or a semi-final. To move past Concordia into first place in the "2-3-6" division, which would give the Gaiters a bye and a home semi-final, the Gaiters must pick up at least a win and a tie over the last two weeks. Concordia would clinch first place with a win.
LAST TIME OUT: The McGill Redmen got a pair of quick tries and held on to defeat the Gaiters 17-13 at Molson Stadium on Oct. 6.
William Vendramini (Dorval, Que./John Abbott College) had the only try for Bishop's, while Jeff Bray added a conversion and two penalty goals.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Nicolas Doyon's try halfway through extra time gave the Bishop's Gaiters a thrilling 33-26 win in an RSEQ men's rugby quarter-final at Coulter Field on Oct. 30, 2016. After
Lee Hudson made an interception in the Gaiters' end late in the first half of extra time, he flipped the ball out to Doyon, who ran 70 yards to pay dirt, as the Gaiters finally put away a pesky Stingers squad.
Ewan Lawton (Halifax, England/Queen Ethelburga's College),
Patrick Lawton (Halifax, England/Queen Ethelburga's College),
Lee Hudson (Sutton, Que./Champlain-Lennoxville) and
William Vendramini (Dorval, Que./John Abbott College) also scored tries for the Gaiters, while
Patrick Lawton (Halifax, England/Queen Ethelburga's College) added three conversions and
Josh Bray (Lennoxville, Que./Bishop's College School) kicked one.
HE'S NOT JOSHING AROUND: Third-year scrum half
Josh Bray (Lennoxville, Que./Bishop's College School) leads the Gaiters with 35 points, on a try, six conversions and six penalty goals this season. He is third in the league, trailing only Concordia's Jonathan Banks, who has 49 points and Tom Saurin of ETS, who has 37.
Tyler Murphy (Bromont, Que. ) is the Gaiters' leading try-scorer this season, with four tries and 22 total points on the year.
SOCIAL CORNER: Want to be in the know? Follow @BishopsGaiters and the hashtag #GaiterNation on social media for all the latest news and information on the purple and silver. Also be sure to check out the new-look
www.gaiters.ca.
UP NEXT: After Sunday's game, the Gaiters head to Montreal to play old rivals McGill on Friday, Oct. 6. Kickoff for that game is set for 8:30 p.m.
