Stingers secure second

Concordia’s women’s rugby team extended their winning streak to three with a victory over the McGill Martlets 15-0 on Thursday night. The victory secured Concordia’s possession of second place while the Martlets drop down to third in the league.
It was clear to see from the opening minutes how powerful Concordia’s forwards were. McGill attempted to use a synchronized push against the Stingers but hit a brick wall. The Stinger pack was visibly stronger than their Martlet counterparts and controlled the scrums and mauls. The Stingers slid McGill’s forwards across the wet grass in mauls and dragged them along for the ride when McGill tried to tackle.
The Stingers set the tone when eight-man Hughanna Gaw clobbered a hapless Martlet off a line out and captain Claire Hortop body slammed McGill’s fullback to the grass early in the game. It wasn’t long before Concordia was threatening to score and McGill was scrambling to co-ordinate their defence.
The Stingers were handed their first try courtesy of a McGill mistake. A Martlet flanker jumped the gun on a scrum on the five-yard line and bore down on scrumhalf Robin Hunter. This costly slip resulted in a penalty try and a McGill sin-bin, a ten-minute penalty that leaves the team one player short. Jackie Tittley made the resulting kick and the Stingers were up 7-0.
Within two minutes, the Stingers took advantage of McGill’s reduced line-up to score. Former Martlet Laura Belvedere left her old team in the dust as she outran the backs to score in the corner.
In the second half, Concordia’s biggest challenge was themselves. They committed nine penalties and had two sin-bins. The weakened team had to stand up to repeated McGill blitzes and compensate for their missing players.
McGill’s speedy backs tried in vain to use their offensive overlap to beat the Stingers on the edge of the field. Concordia always managed to shift their backs or to come up with a big tackle to slow the charge.
“We have the ability to recognize when we’re falling,” said forward Adara Borys, “we take that and we regroup and push it back in their face, that’s one of our strongest qualities.”
Concordia’s Vanessa Grillo took on the responsibility of tackling anybody wearing red and white. Fan favourite Erika Hamilton booted the ball downfield to relieve the pressure and the give the Stingers a breather.
Concordia managed to get enough field position to attempt a penalty kick. Tittley put the final nail in the coffin with a 40-yard kick to up the score to 15-0.
The women’s next match-up is against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in our nation’s capital Saturday at 3:30 p.m.