For the second straight year, all that stands in the way of an OUA men’s rugby win for Queen’s is the Western Mustangs.

The Gaels were victorious on Saturday in their OUA semi-final game versus the McMaster Marauders, winning 38-3 in a miserable rain and heavy winds at Nixon Field.

Queen’s is now set to host the league title game for the second year in a row, after topping Western 29-18 to claim the 2012 OUA crown.

Head coach Peter Huigenbos was proud of his team’s win over McMaster, especially due to the intense weather conditions.

“We had to play into the wind in the first half, but we were able to dominant a lot of the possession and score very early,” Huigenbos said. “That was a big start to the game because it is a difficult task to face a tough team like McMaster.”

The Gaels were quick to get points up on the board with tries by Brendan Sloan and a successful conversion by Adam McQueen.

Angus MacPhail scored later on in the half, countering a tough attack by the Marauders, followed by another successful kick from McQueen.

It wasn’t until the 40th minute of play that McMaster scored points by means of a penalty goal, ending the first half 14-3 for the Gaels.

“What we talked about a couple hours before the game were things that I saw on the field during the game: keeping possession in the wind, no kicking the ball into the wind and trying to run the ball more,” Huigenbos said. “A lot of the guys made the right decisions the whole game, tactical wise, so that was nice to see.”

Queen’s came out strong in the second half with a try by Dave Worsley and another successful conversion by McQueen.

Shortly thereafter, James Dent put some more points on the board for Queen’s. This was soon followed by Kainoa Lloyd’s first try of the game, accompanied by another successful kick for McQueen, making him four for five on the day.

The match ended with another try from Lloyd to seal the 38-3 win.

Huigenbos was pleased with his team’s all-around performance and welcomed one notable addition to the lineup this week: McQueen, back from a stint with the Canadian national program.

“That was nice to have, he played well,” Huigenbos said. “It was definitely the strongest lineup that we could field. The team played well together and that was great to see.”

Looking forward to Saturday’s championship rematch with Western, Huigenbos said his team is feeling confident and is continuing to work on some much-needed improvements.

“We have a lot of guys that are looking to win their second straight championship, but we also a lot of new players that are eager to play at their first OUA Championship game,” he said. “We’re healthy, focused and we will prepare all week for what should be a great game.”

The Gaels and Mustangs will face off this Saturday at Nixon Field with a 1 p.m. kickoff.