KINGSTON – The Guelph Gryphons men's rugby team's title reign has ended. The Gryphons came up short in their attempt to secure the Turner Trophy for the second straight year, falling 62-17 to the undefeated Queen's Gaels in the OUA championship on a crisp, clear day at Nixon Field.
 
It was the fourth year in a row that the two OUA rugby powers met, with Queen's looking to avenge last year's dramatic loss to Guelph in kicks at Varsity Field. The Gaels executed from the opening kickoff, controlling the play throughout a decisive first half and well into the second to win their fifth championship in the past six years.
 
"We were well beaten," said Gryphons' head coach Cory Hector. "We just didn't capitalize on the few chances we had. They were good defensively and we just didn't do enough to beat them."
 
The Gryphons' only loss of the regular season came on the same Nixon Field pitch, when they were defeated 34-26 back on Sept. 30.

Third-year lock Matthew Van Camp and fourth-year hooker and captain Jack Caylor each scored a try for the Gryphons, while John Sheridan added a penalty kick and two conversions.
 
The Gaels came out fast and applied pressure on the Gryphons, who also made several miscues to help the unbeaten hosts build a lead. After Queen's went up 3-0 early on a penalty kick, Guelph immediately had a chance to take a lead with a scrum deep in the Gaels' end but were unable to come out with the ball.
 
The squandered opportunity was costly. Sheridan made a great run into the Queen's end on a subsequent possession but an offload to the left was intercepted by Queen's fullback and national team member Kainoa Lloyd, who sprinted in for the first try of the match from about 60 yards out. Lloyd was the dominant player on the pitch and would finish with three tries on the day.
 
Guelph stopped the early momentum with an excellent 43-yard penalty goal from Sheridan to make it 10-3 but the Gaels would take full advantage of Gryphon drops, penalties, and an untimely yellow card, to score three consecutive tries in a span of 12 minutes for a commanding 29-3 lead after the first half of play.
 
Queen's didn't let up after the restart, scoring another try early. And despite taking a yellow and going down a man, the Gaels intercepted a Guelph lineout, which eventually led to their sixth try of the afternoon, this one from Trillium Award winner Charlie Tremblay.
 
The Gryphons didn't quit and finally got one across the line in the 60^th minute when Van Camp scored. They would add another try in the 75^th minute as Caylor got one in.
 
Guelph will continue its season next week as host of the inaugural Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship at Alumni Stadium from Nov. 16 to 19.
 
"This one stings for sure but the silver lining is we get a chance to play a few more games next week and pick ourselves up."