Men’s rugby is a win away from their first perfect regular season since 2009.

The Gaels (6-0) continued their reign over the OUA last Friday with a road win over the Guelph Gryphons (4-2). The Gryphons’ only previous loss had come against the second-place Western Mustangs (5-1).

Gaels head coach Peter Huigenbos was satisfied with the win, especially against such a challenging opponent.

“We knew that it was going to be tough. It was definitely a very hard-hitting game,” Huigenbos said, noting Queen’s ability to dominate possession as a key factor in the win.

“Guelph was very strong in defence, especially in the second half. We were very satisfied to leave there with a victory.”

It wasn’t until the second half that the Gaels secured their victory. The first half saw a penalty goal by fifth-year back Brendan McGovern and a try by fourth-year back David Worsley, handing Queen’s an 8-3 lead at the interval.

A 14-point scoring run in the second half was completed by second-year flankers Brendan Sloan and Ciaran McSwiggan, with McGovern successfully converting both tries.

Though the end result was a success, the 22-3 victory saw the fewest number of points scored by the Gaels thus far.

Huigenbos said he didn’t think this would have any impact on Queen’s upcoming games.

“I think that we have had three straight games against very strong opponents,” Huigenbos said, referencing the Gaels’ recent wins over Western and the McMaster Marauders.

“We made some very good tactical decisions in our game against Guelph,” he added. “I am happy with that score on the road against a quality team.”

The Gaels’ lineup has varied from game to game, but only a few key players were missing for last weekend’s game.

Second-year back Adam McQueen was absent due to commitments with the Canadian national program, while fourth-year back Liam Underwood remains injured.

Huigenbos declined to comment on Underwood’s status.

Homecoming weekend number two has the Gaels at home on Nixon Field tomorrow against the Brock Badgers. Last season, the Gaels beat Brock 46-3 in the OUA semi-finals.

A win would secure a 7-0 season and a home field throughout the post-season.

“We want to lock up home-field advantage in the playoffs, so we still have work to do there,” Huigenbos said.

“We are going to prepare to execute, and if we can play similarly to how we did in Guelph … then it will be further progress to the playoffs.”