"When I struck the ball and saw it go through the uprights I felt relief first, the immense elation," Stokes said to the media."My immediate reaction was to run over to my teammates and celebrate the moment with them."

"I was just thinking about all the hard work we've put in… since day one," Boyer told The McGill Tribune. "Especially for all our graduating players, I just couldn't fathom losing out like that.



"One of the (Montréal) players was out of position," added Boyer, who was named earlier as the RSEQ rookie of the year in men's rugby. "I just thought 'this is it.'… It felt unreal—on my birthday, in front of all my friends, my family, and a huge McGill crowd, you just couldn't have scripted it better."

The try and winning conversion

"I could tell everyone was exhausted," said

Mitchell Cuillerier , a physical education senior who is team captain, a physical education senior who is

"But when I looked in their eyes, I could see nobody was going to quit...

The greatest part about playing Redmen rugby is the connection and bond you make with your teammates.

"

"Credit to (the Carabins), they put a lot of pressure on us," said

. "They played a very good tactical game.



"In the last nine minutes of running time... we ran 61 phases of rugby and that's really something. We had a couple of little hiccups but five penalties (by the Carabins) allowed us to retain possession. But in that time, that stage of the game, to maintain possession like that was very impressive. Quite a feat by the guys

YEAR CHAMPIONS 2015 McGill 2014 Concordia 2013 McGill 2012 McGill 2011 McGill 2010 McGill 2009 McGill 2008 McGill 2007 McGill 2006 McGill 2005 Concordia 2004 McGill 2003 Bishop's 2002 McGill 2001 Concordia 2000 Concordia 1999 Concordia 1998 Bishop's 1997 McGill 1996 Concordia 1995 Laval 1994 Bishop's 1993 Bishop's 1992 Bishop's 1991 McGill 1990 Bishop's

Défaite crève-cœur des Carabins en finale

MONTREAL --, a rookie from the Town of Mt. Royal, Que., celebrated his 21st birthday by scoring a last-second try andof Vancouver, B.C., made the conversion on the final play of the game to cap a magical come-from-behind victory as McGill edged the Montreal Carabins 10-9 to capture the RSEQ men's rugby championship, on Friday the 13th.SEE JOSH BLATT'S SPECTACULAR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF CHAMPIONSHIP GAMEIt marked McGill's 15th straight appearance in the Quebec league championship game and was their ninth conference title in 10 years. The game was played in a constant drizzle before 997 fans at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, the largest crowd ever to witness a Quebec university rugby game.The finish was eerily similar to last year's RSEQ final when Concordia edged McGill 20-18 in double overtime on Nov. 23, 2014. The Stingers tied the score at 16-16 on the final play of regulation time with a try and conversion to force two 10-minute overtime periods.It was the first appearance in the Quebec final by the upstart Carabins, who joined the RSEQ in 2012, finished this season with a solid 5-2 record, then surprised Bishop's 22-11 in last week's semifinal.McGill took an early 3-0 lead on a 33-yard penalty-kick bybut, who tallied all nine points for UdeM, tied it at 3-3 with a 17-yard penalty kick in the final minute of the first half. Constantin, the Carabins team captain, then got the ball back seconds later and tallied a rare drop kick goal, from 25-yards out, to give the Carabins a 6-3 advantage on the last play of the half.Constantin added another penalty kick in the 53rd minute of play and that's the way it remained until the dying seconds of regulation time, when Boyer, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound economics freshman who plays on the back row, took a lateral pitchout from the scrum, zig-zagged eight yards through a throng of players and dove across the goal-line to set the table for the winning conversion by Stokes.capped a frantic finish that featured an astonishing 61 play sequences, known as phases, most of them with McGill swarming inside the Carabins 20-yard line, for the last eight minutes of the contest.among 11 McGill players not expected to return next year.head coach for, who was elevated to bench boss this season and guided the Redmen to a 6-0-1 first-place finish atop the RSEQ standings and a 2-0 mark in post-season play."It was the third championship of the fall semester for McGill's varsity sports program, which also captured the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association banner and the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association crown.REDMEN RAP: McGill had to play without scoring leader and conference all-star, an exchange student from England who was unable to dress for the final after suffering an injury in last week's 50-0 semifinal win over ETS... His status to return is unlikely, along with, another exchange student. Among the seniors expected to graduate is hooker, flankers(BA, economics) and(B.Ed, secondary English), plus scrum-half(mechanical engineering), outside center(BA, political science) and winger(BSc, neuroscience) to round out the starting fifteen. Other seniors includeB.Sc., immunology),(BA, political science) and(B.Sc, physical therapy),2015 RSEQ MEN'S RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP GAMESCORING SUMMARY(rainy, 6c, Attendance 997 @ Percival Molson Stadium)FIRST HALF:1. McG:, PENALTY KICK (33 yds), 11:00 (Redmen 3-0)2. MTL:, PENALTY KICK (17 yds), 39:00 (score tied 3-3)3. MTL:, DROP-KICK GOAL (25 yds), 40:00 (Carabins 6-3)SECOND HALF:4. MTL:, PENALTY KICK, 53:00 (Carabins 9-3)5. McG:TRY (8 yds); [Conversion by], 80:00 (Redmen 10-9)FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:Communications OfficeAthletics & RecreationMcGill University============================================================================CARABINS GAME STORY FROM: carabins.umontreal.ca

Montréal, le 13 novembre 2015 - À sa première participation en finale provinciale, la formation de rugby masculin des Carabins de l'Université de Montréal a baissé pavillon à la toute dernière seconde de jeu face aux Redmen de McGill vendredi soir au Stade mémorial Percival-Molson. Les Rouges l'ont emporté 10-9.

Alors que les Carabins avaient les devants 9-3 après 80 minutes de jeu, les Redmen se sont approchés de l'en-but dans le temps ajouté. Après avoir été stoppés par de nombreux plaqués des Bleus durant de longues minutes, les Rouges ont finalement percé la muraille pour marquer l'essai. La transformation de deux points qui a suivi a mis fin au débat.

« Perdre par un point à la dernière seconde, c'est un pointage difficile à digérer. Malheureusement, nous devrons apprendre de cette défaite, a dit l'entraîneur-chef Alexandre Saint-Bonnet. Les joueurs ont été très combatifs jusqu'à la fin. Nous n'avions jamais vécu l'expérience d'une finale et on sera mieux préparé l'an prochain pour passer le prochain palier. »

Les Redmen avaient brisé l'égalité dès la 11e minute sur un botté de pénalité qui a franchi près de 40 verges. Ils prenaient ainsi les devants 3-0. À la 34e, les Rouges se sont approchés à quelques verges de l'en-but, mais la défense des Carabins a démontré sa force et a résisté.

« Le roseau n'a pas plié, a imagé Alexandre Saint-Bonnet. L'objectif au rugby est de toujours avancer sur le terrain. Notre défense l'a bien démontré à plusieurs occasions ce soir. »

Moins de cinq minutes plus tard, Pierre Constantin (Maîtrise en management, HEC Montréal) a réussi une interception qui a changé l'allure de la rencontre. Il s'est échappé et a réussi à provoquer une faute de l'adversaire. Il a ensuite lui-même marqué les trois points sur un botté de pénalité. Puis, sur le dernier jeu de la première demie, il a réussi un drop pour donner l'avance aux siens, 6-3, tout juste avant de retraiter au vestiaire.

Au retour, les Redmen ont raté deux bottés de pénalité dans les 15 minutes de jeu suivantes. Constantin a ensuite ajouté trois points sur un deuxième botté de pénalité, sur plus de 30 verges, à la 60e minute. Les Carabins ont ensuite protégé leur avance jusqu'aux derniers instants.

« Je retiens que ça a été une très belle saison, a conclu Alexandre Saint-Bonnet. Plus qu'un très bon groupe, cette équipe est une famille. Les gars ont joué comme des frères, prêts à se sacrifier l'un pour l'autre. Nous avons parcouru beaucoup de chemin en seulement quatre saisons. Nous misons sur un groupe solide qui a de belles valeurs. Et nous sentons que tout le monde est derrière nous. »

Source : Mathieu Dauphinais, agent d'information sportive