Stingers win in emotional Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup

kelly-anne drummond cup
Kelly-Anne Drummond’s parents present the Stingers with the trophy named after their daughter. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team outplayed the McGill Martlets in the 14th annual Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup on Sept. 16 at the Concordia Stadium. The Stingers won with a final score of 51-24.

“It has always been the most important game for me, whether I was involved or not,” an emotional Barrieau said following the game. “I really care about this rugby community and I hope we all stand by each other and support each other.”

Kelly-Anne Drummond played for the Stingers from 1999 to 2001 and was a highly-valued member of the team and respected by all. She was killed by her boyfriend in 2004–the Cup has been named in her honour. Ticket sales and donations from Sunday’s game will be sent to Women Aware, a non-profit organization against domestic violence. This year, Concordia tried to raise funds to start a Kelly-Anne Drummond scholarship.

kelly-anne drummond cup
The women’s rugby team believes the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup is the most important game of the season. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

The Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup has been a symbol of rugby supremacy in Montreal, with Concordia always playing McGill or Université de Montréal. It means so much more to the rugby community at Concordia than just a game.

“For us this cup, it is really important,” said coach Jocelyn Barrieau following the game. “It matters for Concordia and all of us to honor Kelly-Anne. We’ve had Kelly-Anne’s parents here to speak to the girls and did a lot with our alumni this week to show the girls what it means to play in this game.”

It didn’t take long for the Stingers to set the tone of the game. Back Jasmine Baxter found her way through traffic to get a try only 59 seconds into the game. From then, a scoring slugfest between both the Martlets and Stingers continued. Although Concordia did manage to put up points first, McGill always stayed within range of the lead.

The flow of the game then shifted to quick responses by the Stingers. Both times the Martlets scored in the first half, it took only five minutes for a Stingers response. By the end of the first half, five different Stingers had been able to put points on the board and the team held a fifteen-point lead.

“This game is the most important game of the season,” said second-year player Shawna Brayton. “Not just for me but for everyone else. It’s just a memorable game and we had to win this game. It’s a must for the season.”

kelly-anne drummond cup
The Stingers beat the Martlets 51-24 and improve their record to 2-1. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

The Martlets came out swinging in the second half and scored on their first drive, two minutes in. That would, however, be the closest McGill would come to the lead, as Stingers forward Samantha Molnar responded with her second try of the game to start a blistering scoring run.

“We came out and played really well as a team today,” Molnar said. “Playing together with my sisters is one of the best feelings we can have, especially to bring back the cup, which we lost last year.”

The remainder of the second half proved to be too much for the Martlets, who failed to score for the remaining 30 minutes of play. On the contrary, Concordia racked up another three tries to seal the deal.

By the end of the game, seven different Stingers had contributed to the scoring, with only Brayton and Molner finding the try zone on two occasions.

The win brings the women’s rugby team to a 2-1 record heading into the halfway point of the season.

The Stingers women’s rugby team will take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees at Concordia on Sept. 22.

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad.

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