CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The visiting McGill men's rugby team easily defeated Harvard 31-7 in the annual Covo Cup game on Saturday.

It was the fourth straight Cup victory for McGill in the event which was initiated in 1974 to mark the centennial of the first meeting between the two storied clubs in 1874. The Cup is named in memory of the late Professor Peter Covo, a former multi-sport athlete at McGill, who went on to become a professor and rugby coach at the University.

The match started out as a bitter battle for field position on a cold and windy afternoon. The teams went back and forth for much of the half until McGill broke the Harvard defensive line and scampered in for a try halfway through the first half. The remainder of the period was dominated by Harvard but despite a few close attempts, they went into halftime empty-handed.

In the second stanza, McGill's speed took advantage of a few holes in the Harvard defence resulting in two quick tries by Estello Nap-Hill of Richmond, B.C., and Joshua Blair, a native of Franklin Centre, Que., who added another try later.

Harvard then struck back, with a try by senior wing Nick Moore and a successful conversion kick by freshman Will Collins. Harvard's comeback attempt was a little too late and McGill putting up two more tries. Cam rounded out the scoring for McGill with three conversions.

REDMEN RAP: Both schools also met in a B-side game and McGill also prevailed with a 24-5 victory. Harvard's second 15 got on board first with an early try by sophomore rookie and man -of-the-match Niv Sultan. A great defensive stand at the end of the half, maintained a 5-0 lead for Harvard heading into intermission. McGill came out strong in the second half and aided by a few defensive breakdowns, found their way into the try zone to take the lead 7-5 with a successful conversion kick.McGill later capitalized on a few Harvard penalties to score a few more tries. Emmerich led the way for McGill with 14 points, registering two brilliant tries to go along with a pair of conversions.

McGILL-HARVARD COVO CUP CHAMPIONS:

1974: McGill won 6-3

1975: McGill won 13-12

1976: Harvard won 27-0

1977: Harvard won 24-10

1978: McGill won 12-8

1979: Harvard won 16-0 (or 19-0)

1980: Harvard won 27-9

1981: Harvard won (score unavailable)

1982: McGill won 15-3

1983: McGill won 8-0

1984: McGill won 28-7

1985: McGill won 21-0

1986: McGill won 49-3

1987: McGill won 22-14

1988: Harvard won 9-7

1989: Harvard won (score unavailable)

1990: McGill won 35-0

1991: Harvard won 16-9

1992: McGill won 14-8

1993: Harvard won 14-9

1994: Harvard won 9-7

1995: McGill won 30-7

1996: McGill won 32-25

1997: Harvard won 17-14

1998: Harvard won (score not available)

1999: (no game)

2000: (no game)

2001: McGill won 45-7

2002: Harvard won 17-0

2003: McGill won 37-0

2004: (no game)

2005: (no game)

2006: Harvard won 10-7

2007: Harvard won 22-7

2008: (no game)

2009: McGill won 15-3

2010: McGill won 34-17

2011: (no game)

2012: McGill won 41-30

2013: McGill won 31-7

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

Communications Officer

Athletics & Recreation

McGill University

514-398-7012 (Tel.)