Heavy rain will not dampen their game

By: Eamon Hillis

As the heavy rain turned 10-Acre Field soft, the McMaster men’s rugby squad defeated Royal Military College, progressing to a 3-0 start to the season.

In this their latest triumph, the McMaster men showed poise to overcome a poor opening half and close out the match 23-5. Their RMC opponents, respected around the league, have historically held a reputation of fit and physical play. And this year, despite their 0-3, was no different. Their grinding style presented fundamental challenges for the Mac team, who kept the score close in the beginning.

“The first half was a little sloppy,” head coach Dan Pletch said. “RMC is a big, physical team and they put us under pressure. It took us a half to get into our systems and to figure out what we were trying to do.”

These difficulties were magnified by the rain, which fell throughout the game. The ball became difficult to handle, and for the skilled McMaster team who likes to play to the outside, adjustments had to be made.

“The weather wasn’t good for us,” Pletch said. “We try to play a fast style, throwing the ball out to the wings, but we couldn’t do that today and so we had to change our strategy. We did have a good second half though and the boys pulled through.”

Mac, who were trailing 5-3 at half, posted 20 straight points to run away with the win.

Two weeks ago, McMaster opened the season with a big win over the Western Mustangs, avenging their 2015 Ontario University Athletics bronze medal defeat, and establishing themselves as a significant threat for this year’s championship title. McMaster is one of only two OUA teams who remain undefeated thus far, the other team being Guelph.

Throughout the first three games, William Kelly, the rookie fly-half from Hamilton, has bloomed into an integral piece to the team’s success. Taking the kicks for McMaster, Kelly put up 13 points on Saturday, which included two penalty goals, two conversions and a drop goal.

“He is a mature player, beyond his years,” Pletch said. “He has a good background in rugby and spent last season playing at a development academy in England.  We knew he would be good, but for a first year to come in and play fly-half for us is impressive.”

Prop Mike Smith and centre Mitch Richardson were responsible for the two tries Mac scored against RMC on Saturday.

In the face of the team’s exciting start, coach Pletch continues to uphold strong team values and keep himself and his players focused.

“Our goals for me are individual for each player. I want each of them to reach their own potential, and if we can do that, we’ll hopefully win a few games by the end of the season.”

Mac plays in Kingston this Saturday against the 2-1 Queen’s Gaels.  The Golden Gales were the 2015 OUA champions, meaning that a win this weekend could make McMaster one of the favourites come post-season play.