Tigers prowl over Redmen for mythical East title

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL –Ellis Grey connected on his second penalty kick, a 30-yarder from a sharp angle in rainy conditions on the final play of injury time as Dalhousie rallied to defeat McGill 14-12 and capture the mythical Eastern Canadian men’s university rugby title at Molson Stadium, Saturday.

The lead changed hands four times in a much-anticipated matchup between the Quebec champion Redmen (7-3-1) and Dalhousie (9-0), the undefeated Rugby Nova Scotia University League champs.

Grey had given the Tigers a 3-0 lead with his first penalty goal midway through the opening half. However, McGill’s Michael Davis, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior winger from Mississauga, Ont., scored his team-leading 13th try of the season with just over 16 minutes remaining in the half to put the Redmen ahead 7-3 after Sam Skulsky’s conversion.

Only four minutes into the second stanza, Paul Forrest of Dartmouth, N.S., scored a try to give Dalhousie an 8-7 lead. They upped the lead to 11-7 on a rare drop-kick goal by Kyle Langille, a fly-half from Truro, N.S.

McGill rallied again to go ahead 12-11 with just over a minute remaining when Tyler Staton, a junior from Cowansville, Que., touched down for an unconverted try.