They slice, they dice, they cut julian fries! Unfortunately the ‘they’ was not Concordia, but rather the women’s rugby powerhouse McGill, who are now undefeated through three straight seasons. Yet again McGill and Concordia vied for the provincial championship, this rematch going in McGill’s favour 60-0.
“They moved the ball well, dominated in loose-ball play, they never let the ball die,” explained Stingers’ assistant coach Ann Coyle of McGill.
It seems all of Concordia’s season was leading up to this game, using the other teams as practice for the big, inevitable last match against McGill.
Slice would be the best definition of what McGill did to Concordia’s defence. Concordia always seemed to be under-manned down the line covering McGill’s runners, and somehow one would find a way through. Often McGill would kick the ball deep into Concordia territory, and make sure the play stayed there. Also the Stingers couldn’t handle McGill’s bigger size when it came to tackling runners or scrambling for possession of loose balls.
In the end did weeks of honing defence pay-off for the Stingers? “No. We needed more solid tackling today” said Coyle. However, to her team’s credit, she added, “I’m really proud of them, they played their hearts out till the end.”
The Stingers came very close to breaking McGill’s shutout a few times, but were never able to push those last few yards through McGill’s lines. In the second half Concordia’s performance did step up, allowing fewer scoring opportunities. But the play also got a bit scrappy in that half, with injuries on both sides, a player from both teams receiving a yellow card, and a few frustrated altercations between the teams.
“It was a very emotional game,” said Stinger captain Sommer Christie after the game. “I’ve never wanted to win a game so much in my life.”
It was probably the last game for some key Stingers’ veterans, like Joanne Auger, Lynda Domazet, Leila El-Kayem, Leigh Garland and Katie Renwick. The Stingers won’t be invited to the national tournament since hosting Ottawa gets a bye and knocks out the second-placed team from the Quebec-Ontario division.
“They moved the ball well, dominated in loose-ball play, they never let the ball die,” explained Stingers’ assistant coach Ann Coyle of McGill.
It seems all of Concordia’s season was leading up to this game, using the other teams as practice for the big, inevitable last match against McGill.
Slice would be the best definition of what McGill did to Concordia’s defence. Concordia always seemed to be under-manned down the line covering McGill’s runners, and somehow one would find a way through. Often McGill would kick the ball deep into Concordia territory, and make sure the play stayed there. Also the Stingers couldn’t handle McGill’s bigger size when it came to tackling runners or scrambling for possession of loose balls.
In the end did weeks of honing defence pay-off for the Stingers? “No. We needed more solid tackling today” said Coyle. However, to her team’s credit, she added, “I’m really proud of them, they played their hearts out till the end.”
The Stingers came very close to breaking McGill’s shutout a few times, but were never able to push those last few yards through McGill’s lines. In the second half Concordia’s performance did step up, allowing fewer scoring opportunities. But the play also got a bit scrappy in that half, with injuries on both sides, a player from both teams receiving a yellow card, and a few frustrated altercations between the teams.
“It was a very emotional game,” said Stinger captain Sommer Christie after the game. “I’ve never wanted to win a game so much in my life.”
It was probably the last game for some key Stingers’ veterans, like Joanne Auger, Lynda Domazet, Leila El-Kayem, Leigh Garland and Katie Renwick. The Stingers won’t be invited to the national tournament since hosting Ottawa gets a bye and knocks out the second-placed team from the Quebec-Ontario division.
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