This past Friday night, the Concordia women’s rugby team secured themselves a spot in the finals against McGill by pummeling the Laval Rouge et Or 38-3 at home.
The game started off slow. Three-quarters into the first half and Concordia only had two tries and one conversion up on the board, leaving them with a score of 12-0. Then, at 29:41 of the half, the lights went off at the Loyola field.
It took 12 minutes to get the stadium lights back up and running, but Concordia could be seen through the dark running laps and working on their ball handling. The game resumed and Concordia came out with a vengeance.
Laval put their only three points on the board with three minutes left in the first half, bringing the score to 12-3.
Less than five minutes into the second half, the ball was kicked towards the Laval try line and chased furiously by both teams. Unfortunately, Laval touched the ball down in their own zone, making the potential points null and stopping play. This gave the Stingers the motivation they needed.
A minute later, the Stingers scored their first try that half. Alexandra Ste. Marie, the team’s kicker, lined up to take the conversion kick and the whole stadium went quiet. The silence was still there when the ball sailed through the posts and landed on the other side. When the flag was raised to show the conversion was made, the bleachers went crazy.
Twelve minutes into the second half, another try was scored, this time by captain Hughanna Gaw, off of an impressive scrum that drove itself over the try line. There was no conversion, but the score was now 24-3 in favour of the maroon-and-gold.
Only five minutes later, another try by Stingers’ lock Jasmine Akkermans and an impressive conversion by Ste. Marie brought the score to 31-3. Shortly after, Laval was given a yellow card and the Stingers had a chance to add three points to the board with a penalty kick. Although the kick was not made, a try by flanker Cara Stuckey and a successful convert brought the final score to 38-3.
“I was really proud of how we played [Friday] night, both offensively and defensively. Everything flowed really well, the communication was great and I think everyone could see that from the stands,” said Ste. Marie.
She couldn’t have put it better; their scrums and lineouts dominated those of Laval, they pushed hard on defense and they hit gaps on offense that the untrained eye could never pick up.
Head coach Graeme McGravie couldn’t agree more.
“We looked and played like a team that was playing to its potential.”
Concordia’s win against Laval means one thing, they’re going to the finals after a completely undefeated season and a strong win at semis.
“Our expectation is to win, I expect a very tough game from [McGill] and we are preparing this week for that encounter,” said McGravie.
“Now that we’ve secured our spot in the finals we have to focus on perfecting every aspect of our game to prepare for our big game against McGill,” said Ste. Marie about their ticket to finals. “It always feels amazing to win a playoff game because you know your team is one step closer to the championship.”
Concordia will play McGill on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Loyola. Tickets are $5.
