Stingers fall to Martlets

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team saw the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup slip out of their hands on Sunday as the McGill Martlets scored on a last-minute play to win 14-10.
This is the fourth consecutive year the Martlets have won the cup named after the late Stinger, who was killed by her boyfriend.
“If you were ever down she would always pick you up, she was a genuinely good person,” recalled Concordia scrumhalf Mel Tranchemontagne with a wavering voice. Tranchemontagne is the last player on the team to have played with Drummond. As a tribute to the prop player, the Stingers have ceased to wear Drummond’s number three. This is Tranchemontagne’s last year as a Stinger and she lamented losing the cup for the fourth consecutive year at the hands of the Martlets. “It’s my last year, and I just wanted to win it this year. We were so close.”
The game began with Concordia on their heels as McGill backs played quick defence pressuring the Stingers and forcing awkward passes. The majority of the first half was played in Concordia’s end, but the Martlets were unable to come up with a try. With less than eight minutes left, Stinger fullback Jenny Rosenbaum chipped and caught the ball over McGill’s heads to set up a try scored by Kim Whitty. Jackie Tittley then made good on the kick to put the Stingers up 7-0 going into halftime.
McGill came back from halftime looking for a quick try and succeeded by slipping through a flat-footed Concordia defence to even the game. Concordia responded by marching the Martlets back down the field, only to suffer from repeatedly dropped balls on the five-yard line. Concordia could only manage to secure a three-point kick to lead 10-7. A costly mistake in the last two minutes ensured McGill the cup. The Martlets took advantage of a two-on-one deep in Concordia territory forcing fullback Rosenbaum to make a high tackle. This penalty resulted in a try and a kick, which ended Concordia’s dream of finally hoisting the cup.
The Stingers were forced to watch Doreen Haddad, Kelly-Anne’s mother, hand the trophy over to the Martlets for yet another year.
“We just really wanted it so bad, and we do it all the time. We lose to McGill at the beginning of the year, but there is a psychological barrier because it’s McGill. We let up for 10 minutes and we can’t. That’s how we lost,” said Concordia’s captain Tranchemontagne.
Head Coach Graeme McGravie sounded positive as he sees this game as an improvement.
“This is the first year that we’ve even had a sniff of winning it,” he said, recalling the 41-3, 15-0 and 20-5 beatings Concordia has taken in the past cup meetings.
McGill captain Tiffany Hunting explained how much Drummond’s memory affected those who were her favourite adversaries.
“The reason that it’s always played between McGill and Concordia is because she loved the competitiveness between the two teams. We’re cross-town rivals and it’s always a challenge.”
Hunting added how Drummond’s memory intensified the game. “Being the defenders of the cup boosts you to go farther, but also just the cause of it and how much Kelly-Anne loved playing against McGill just brings it all together.”
The teams came together to raise $1,400 for Chez Doris, a women’s shelter. Haddad thanked the teams enthusiastically for carrying on Drummond’s spirit and encouraged them to continue living to the fullest. “They [the players] are working towards a future, and Kelly-Anne’s life got snuffed out, she didn’t have that chance.”