LONDON, Ont. – It was an intense battle for the top spot in the OUA on Saturday night as the Mustangs hosted the Queen's Gaels in men's rugby action. Both teams entered the matchup tied for first in the league with undefeated seasons, but it was the Gaels who came out with a 36-18 win at Western's Alumni Field.
 
Although it was Western's lowest scoring contest of the season, it was a hard-fought and evenly matched game. The Mustangs started strong and were first on the board for the fourth match in a row after an early penalty kick for three points by Western's Mike Turnbull. Strong defense by Western in the first half kept the Gaels at bay despite multiple scoring opportunities, and the Mustangs were able to post the game's first try and take an early 8-0 lead. The teams then traded points back and forth to set the score at 13-10 for the Mustangs at the end of the first.
 
The Gaels brought their momentum from the end of the first half into the second, adding a try and conversion to extend their lead. Despite an impressive charge by Western's Justin Chan 10 minutes later to give Western a one-point lead, a fumbled pass deep in Western's zone allowed a speedy Queen's player to run the ball from end-to-end and post the Gaels' third try of the match. They added the conversion for an 18-29 advantage, and they would not give up the lead, scoring three more tries to make it a 36-18 final for Queen's.
 
Western's head coach Steve Thomas was happy with certain parts of his team's performance but sees areas for improvement. "We played well in places, but we weren't consistent enough. [The Gaels] were the better squad," said Thomas. "We just need to go back to basics… there's nothing wrong with us, we just need to play a bit more clinically at times."
 
The Mustangs are back in action on Saturday, October 5 when they travel to Waterloo to face the Warriors.