Tag: rugby

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Stingers lose to Laval in home opener

Archival photo from a game against Bishops. Photo by Brianna Thicke.

Concordia’s women’s rugby team starts the season off with a loss at home

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team opened up their 2016 season on a losing note after a 45-26 loss at the hands of the Université de Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 5.

“They’re a good team but we still expect to win,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie.

The first ten minutes of the game were slow as both teams shared possession of the ball around midfield. However, the game did see the the Stingers get pushed around by a ferocious and tenacious Laval squad. The pace picked up when Laval’s star player Fabiola Forteza scored a try off of a scrum at Concordia’s 35-yard line, just eleven minutes into the game.

It was only after Laval scored two more tries that last season’s MVP Frédérique Rajotte took matters into her own hands. Surging through the defense, she scored the Stingers’ first and only try of the half. The Rouge et Or went into halftime with a comfortable 19-7 lead. It almost looked like the Stingers were going to narrow that lead, but Concordia lost possession of the ball just seconds before the referee blew the halftime whistle.

Laval physically dominated the Stingers in this game, especially during scrums.

‘’[Laval] did really well. I am massively disappointed in our scrums,’’ McGravie said. McGravie added that he had expected stronger scrums since that is something the team is known for.

“[Scrums are] something we discussed with the coaching staff throughout the game. We’re really going to work on that this week,” McGravie said.

Just five minutes into the second half, Laval increased their lead by scoring another try. Despite being behind, the Stingers were able to finish strong. Later during the final frame, the Stingers cut Laval’s lead to just 12 points at 38-26. With five minutes to go, Laval increased their lead to 45-26 which would end up being the final score. Concordia’s effort late in the game did not go unnoticed by their coach, however.

‘’We stuck it out. We went back at them, we played hard and I’m very happy with that,” McGravie said. “I’m happy with the effort but not the execution.”

One notable performance in the game was from prop Émilie Bélanger who led the team in scoring with two tries.

The Stingers will look to get their first win of the season at home on Sept. 8 against the Université de Sherbrooke.

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Different season, same high expectations

The Stingers finished second in their division last year with a record of 6-1. Photos by Brianna Thicke

Women’s rugby coach Graeme McGravie talks about the upcoming year

Last year, the women’s rugby team had a successful season that brought them all the way to Nationals. They won six out of their seven games and posted a point differential of plus 260. The team was able to finish second in the Réseau de sport étudiant de Quebec (RSEQ) division, but according to coach Graeme McGravie, the team is always looking to improve.

“The goal is always the same—it is to win week in and week out,” McGravie said. “We want to—and expect to—win every single game, every single week and eventually get a medal at the Nationals.”

The team has started to practice and is already refining their skills for the upcoming season. Many of the Stingers players from last year are returning, and with a few new recruits, McGravie feels the team is ready to take the next step.

“This year, we have a lot of fifth year players and returning players,” McGravie said. “We have a lot of veterans and experience, so the focus is to win—now and fast. If we would have had a mantra going into training camp, it would definitely be win now.’”

Last season, the Stingers made it to Nationals, but lost in the third place game to the Queen’s University Golden Gaels with a score of 27-13. Two of the players that led the team to Nationals last season were the dynamic duo Frédérique Rajotte and Alex Tessier. Rajotte and Tessier are both All-Canadians, and Rajotte was named league MVP. For McGravie, the team’s physical strategy helps both of these players put up points.

“We like to bang on other teams and get physical to wear them out. It allows us to let Fred and Tess use their speed and work their magic on the boundaries,” said McGravie.

When asked about how the coaching staff is looking at tactical changes going into training camp, McGravie said the physical style of play the team has adopted over the years will remain a staple of the program. McGravie even compared his team to the New York Giants of the NFL.

In terms of recruitment for the upcoming season, McGravie said a winning program and players like Rajotte on his team help in the recruiting process

“It’s kind of like when Kevin Durant went to the Warriors. Players want to go where they’re winning,” McGravie said.

One of the big additions to this year’s team is Francois Ratier, Team Canada’s senior women’s rugby head coach and former technical director of Rugby Quebec. Ratier will be joining the team as an assistant coach.

“He’s the man,” McGravie said. “He’s going to help the coaching staff and kind of look over things. He doesn’t guarantee us wins but he’s going to push everybody on the coaching staff and will be a great asset to the team.”

The Stingers will be given a chance to make an impression on the league during their season opener at home against the Laval Rouge Et Or. The game is on Sept. 5 and will be the first step on the road to Nationals.

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Concordia crowned as champions

Photo by Andrej Ivanov.

The Stingers defeated the Redmen during overtime 28-21 in the RSEQ final

It was a fist-clenching, heart-stopping, back-and-forth final match that pitted cross-town rivals against each other, and was ultimately decided in overtime. It seemed scripted, almost too good to be true.

But as the final whistle blew on Sunday’s Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) rugby championship game between the McGill Redmen and the Concordia Stingers, the home side erupted and emerged victorious.

Before Concordia’s 28-21 victory on Sunday, the Stingers and the Redmen had met in the RSEQ final game the last four seasons, and each time, the Stingers had to endure the sour taste of defeat.

“I’m obviously ecstatic, it’s been five years waiting. It’s terrific, it was down to the bitter end,” said Concordia’s head coach Clive Gibson. “Fans couldn’t have asked for a better [and] more exciting finish than that. Two great teams playing rugby right to the bitter end.”

The game didn’t start as planned for Gibson and his team. The Redmen came out ready to add another championship to their dynasty and pressured the Stingers right out of the gate. Pinned in their own end for the first ten minutes, Concordia was finally able to gain control of the ball and shift the momentum.

The first points of the game came off the foot of Concordia’s Joey Fulginiti when he hit a 25-yard field goal to give the Stingers a 3-0 lead.

As halftime neared, the tempo of the game was competitive yet conservative. Neither team managed to sustain long drives that could penetrate their opponent’s defence.

The majority of the scoring in the first half came during the final two minutes of play. After a field goal by McGill fullback Thomas Stokes tied the game at three, Concordia answered with a late drive of their own. Fulginiti chipped another kick through the uprights and gave the Stingers a 6-3 lead heading into half.

The second half began just like the first half had ended. Concordia marched down the field and Fulginiti knocked down another field goal to increase the Stingers lead to 9-3. However, from then until the end of the game, it was all McGill.

The Redmen dominated the rest of the second half and would score 13 unanswered points. Even though Concordia was the quicker team, McGill outmuscled Concordia and won nearly every battle. As the clock started to reach full-time, it seemed as if the deflated Stingers team would be heading home with silver once again.

As the clock expired, Concordia had the ball for the game’s final possession. It was now or never for the home team as the crowd collectively held their breath. The offence made the most of their time and the Stingers willed their way down the field and deep into McGill’s territory. Stingers center Graeme McClintock finished off the drive with a try to tie the game at 16-16.

In a game where it looked like defence would decide the outcome, there was no shortage of scoring in the two 10-minute overtime periods. After exchanging tries, the game was knotted at 21-21 late in the second overtime.

As the crowd could hardly handle any more excitement, Phillipe Bibeau-Remedi blocked a punt and returned the ball for Concordia’s final try. After another successful conversion by Fulginiti to make it 28-21, all there was left to do was celebrate.

“There [are] guys out there who know they were retiring and who [have] tried. Some of them, this is their fifth time,” said Gibson. “To actually get the win on the fifth time before they finally finish their CIS eligibility, and be able to graduate, I think it’s going to be a good night.”

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Stingers advance to the finals

Photo by Andrej Ivanov

Men’s rugby team defeated the Carabins 16-14 in the RSEQ semi-final

They didn’t make it easy for themselves. It came down to a last-minute defensive stand, but Concordia’s men’s rugby team held onto the victory over the Carabins of the Université de Montréal in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-final on Sunday, Nov.16.

“It was a lot closer than it should’ve been, than it needed to be,” said Stingers head coach Clive Gibson. “We once again took too many penalties, put ourselves under a lot more pressure than we needed to be under.”

Despite escaping with a 16-14 win, it did not seem like the Stingers came out ready to play. From their initial possession, the Carabins took it to the Stingers and kept them hemmed in their own end for the majority of the first half. Concordia’s defensive play was what kept the score even at zero for the first 20 minutes of the match.

“Hats off to UdeM for bringing it strong. They gave us a real run for our money. It was the closest game we’ve had against them all season,” said Gibson.

By the time the first half had reached its midway point, the Stingers offense began to show signs of life, gaining more and more possession as the game progressed. Concordia capitalized on their little time on attack and scored the first points of the game on a try by veteran winger Frederic Kacou. Up 5-0 with 26 minutes gone in the first half, the Stingers fed off of the change in momentum and set the pace for the rest of the half.

Shortly after their first try, Stingers captain Yannick Fortin broke the Carabins’ defence for Concordia’s second try of the game. Even with a couple of crucial missed kicks by Stingers fullback Joey Fulginiti, the Stingers headed into halftime up 10-0.

Awaken from their somber start, the Stingers came out in the second half with the same energy that they finished the first with. Fulginiti made up for his early misses and made two kicks in the second to give Concordia a 16-0 lead. With such strong defensive lines and timely scoring, it seemed as if the Stingers had punched their ticket to the finals.

With 20 minutes left in the game, the Carabins finally wore down Concordia’s defence and made it 16-7 with their first try of the game. After the score, the momentum quickly changed in favour of the Carabins and the Stingers were forced to rely on their defence for the remainder of the game.

With five minutes left in the match, the Carabins scored their second try of the game to make it 16-14, setting up an exciting finish. The final moments of the game seemed to drag on for the nervous Concordia crowd as the Carabins got closer and closer to scoring. The game came down to a final goal line push by the Carabins, but as it did all game, Concordia’s last line of defence refused to break.

Concordia will host the McGill Redmen next Sunday, Nov. 23 in the RSEQ finals. Both the games against the Redmen this year came down to the wire. Although the Redmen beat the Stingers in the season opener, the last game between the two teams ended in a 17-17 draw.

“Hopefully we’ve got that bad game out of the way and we come out strong against McGill next week because that certainly wasn’t one of our better games, [but] we won. Can’t complain,” said Gibson.

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Concordia hosts rugby sevens tryout

Photos by Nathalie Laflamme

Young athletes were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to prove they could make the cut

On Nov. 15, over 120 male and female athletes headed to Concordia’s Stinger Dome in order to show Rugby Canada scouts if they had what it takes to play rugby sevens at the Olympics.

During the Try for GOLD campaign, scouts have been visiting different cities across the country in order to find athletes aged 15 and up who might be future Olympians. Try 4 GOLD has already visited Toronto and Ottawa, and will be headed to Sherbrooke, Burnaby (B.C.), and Red Deer (AB).

Rugby sevens—which is a version of rugby where only seven players are on each team instead of the usual 15 known as rugby union—is an extremely demanding sport. On top of the usual physical demand of union rugby, sevens also demands a lot of running out of each player. A regular rugby union match lasts 80 minutes, while a sevens match has two seven-minute halves, with only a one-and-a-half minute break.

According to François Ratier, the head coach for Rugby Canada’s National Women’s Fifteens team, the sport is like a crossover between basketball and judo, or even soccer and judo. Ratier, who was at the tryouts on Saturday, used to coach the women’s rugby team at Concordia, and was also assistant coach for the McGill women’s rugby team.

Athletes were tested on two components that would gauge whether or not they would be a good fit for rugby sevens: how fast could they run, and how high they could jump. Although rugby sevens is a variation of the classic 15-player game, the testing for rugby sevens had to be much more specific.

Athletes had to do 10-metre, 30-metre, and 40-metre sprints. Then they would move on to do a broad jump and triple jump. For each test, they were given two tries and their best one would be recorded. Before the testing began, athletes were also measured and weighed. The players with the best results will be called back for a second tryout in British Columbia. According to Ratier, the numbers to beat were, for women, between 5’’2’ and 5’’7’ for the 40-metre sprint, and 7m20 and over for the triple jump. For men, the sprint should be completed in around 5’’ and the triple jump should cover about 9m.

On Saturday, the dome was filled with athletes from different schools, of varied ages and sexes. Since the minimum age requirement is 15, many CEGEP students from Montreal were present. Many Stingers shirts could be spotted around the dome, although athletes from all of Montreal’s major universities were there as well.

Ratier explained that results will be analyzed this week. So far, one Concordia player had impressive sprint records—under five seconds.

The Stinger Dome was chosen in part because Ratier thought that the location and quality of the dome made it an ideal location to hold tryouts.

“Rugby and Concordia just go together,” he said.

Ratier is quite excited to see rugby sevens in the Olympics. The classic rugby game has only ever been played once in the 1924 Olympics. An infamous fight broke out in the final between France and the U.S.A., and it was so violent that it was never played again. In fact, the U.S. won the only ever gold Olympic medal for rugby.

According to Ratier, rugby sevens is a better fit for the Olympics, because it is a much faster game. A classic rugby tournament would last three days, while, a rugby sevens tournament can be completed in a day or weekend. The 2016 Olympics in Rio will be the first ever to include rugby sevens. Who knows, the Canadian team just might have some familiar faces.

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Never slowing down despite injury in 2011

Hughanna Gaw helped coach Quebec under 18 team this summer. Photo by Anthony Isabella

Hughanna Gaw doesn’t stop. She has come back full throttle, after injuring her knee in the 2011-12 season and has no plans of quitting rugby anytime soon.

“It took a while for it to actually happen,” she said about her injury. “I had problems with my leg for a while before the injury actually happened but no one knew what was wrong.”

That all changed when she felt something go horribly wrong during the Stingers’ final against Laval in November 2011.

Hughanna Gaw helped coach Quebec under 18 team this summer. Photo by Anthony Isabella

“I was playing and all of a sudden I heard a crack. I called over to [the athletic therapist] and he told me that in a way this was better than not knowing what was wrong, because now I could actually get better.”

“We knew from the final the year before she was really hurt, although we did not expect to lose her for the 2012[-2013] season,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie. “But you need your knee for life, not just rugby. Getting her back at 100 per cent was the only real goal we had.”

Gaw also had to say goodbye to a season with her Quebec senior women’s team this past summer. However, knowing Gaw’s extensive knowledge and commitment to the game, head coach Jocelyn Barrieau offered her a position with the under 18 Quebec development team.

“I’ve been playing for Quebec since 2004. I love playing for Quebec […] It’s a community that always welcomes you with open arms. I wouldn’t have gotten the coaching job if it wasn’t for my coach,” said Gaw. “I was really happy to have the coaching job but I still missed playing. It’s hard to just sit there and watch and not get to play.”

After coaching the nationals in June and jr. Nationals in August, she played half a season with the Ste-Anne’s Rugby Football Club  starting in mid-July knowing she would be going back to the Stingers in the fall of 2013. Gaw is currently finishing up a degree in leisure science with a minor in history.

“I think rugby helps me get through school,” she said. “It helps with time management. We practice four days a week and sometimes have to travel for games so it forces me to sit down and finish my schoolwork with the little time that I have between practices and games,” she added with a laugh, “and class, of course.”

When asked if she felt her skill diminished after missing not only a varsity season but a summer season, she responded with a simple, “Definitely.”

McGravie, however, feels differently. He has nothing but positive words to describe Gaw ‘s role with the team.

“I have no worries. She looks stronger and faster than ever,” he said. “Her physical presence is immense, whether that is tackling, supporting or running with the ball. Her game knowledge is calming not only to the coaches but teammates too.”

“She manages to inspire others around her to be better and push themselves on the field or in the weight room; she is always there to encourage others but somehow manages to push her limits to compete and be the best.”

The Stingers just won their final league game against the Bishop’s Gaiters, bringing their season to a close with an astounding 7-0 sweep.

Gaw has been playing rugby since the eighth grade; she has honed her skills and transformed herself into an ultimate competitor. With her last season with the Stingers coming to a close, there is no doubt she will be missed next season.

 

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Stingers upset Gaiters in 17-8 victory

A raucous Bishop’s crowd was left silent on Friday night as the Stingers made their mark on the Gaiters homecoming, winning 17-8.

Even though ConU went down 3-0 early, the team was able to recover without letting the Gaiters add to the score. Heckles and chirps from the home crowd made communication between players rather difficult, to say the least.

In the final moments of the first half, Bishop’s would take a costly penalty. From 45 yards out, Stingers kicker Joey Fulginiti successfully sent the ball through the uprights to tie the match going into the second half.

“I heard about the [Bishop’s] crowd before, but you have to experience it,” said Fulginiti. “With everyone heckling you and screaming at you, the only thing you can do to silence them is to make the kicks.”

The game-tying kick at the end of the first half was a confidence booster for the Stingers.

“That was huge,” said coach Clive Gibson. “There was no time left and we managed to tie it. It’s a whole different way of looking at the game when you’re tied instead of being down going into the half.”

Concordia started the second half with a surge of energy, scoring a try that came off a scrum on the Bishop’s five. The Stingers repeatedly crashed the line before Vasken Redwanly sealed the score.

A Stingers substitution at half-time saw scrum half Kevin Elliott take the field. This move changed the game, as it brought a more control-oriented feeling.

“The gameplan was to be a little more controlled, a little more poised and you saw it from the forwards who just manhandled Bishop’s,” said Elliott, who believes the forwards are one of the main reasons behind the victory.

Although Bishop’s did manage to make it close by scoring a try, it was their kicking game that would cost them. The Gaiters missed three chances to put up points.

With eight minutes remaining, Con U sealed the game from Dario Pellizzari’s try off a scrum down on the Bishop’s five.

“We couldn’t afford to lose a scrum in their zone, so we saw an opening blind side and took it in,” said Pellizzari. “We got pushed back a little in the beginning, but we dug deep and played like we knew we could.”

Despite the win, Gibson still believes there are improvements to be made by his team.

“We need to play the game at our pace and control the tempo a little bit better,” he said.

 

The Stingers hope to work on this before their next game on Wednesday, Oct. 3 against McGill.

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Stingers women’s rugby team clinches playoff spot

Against an aggressive Bishop’s team, Concordia showed how tough its roster is by shutting out their opposition on the road.

This game was truly a David versus Goliath matchup, as the undefeated Stingers were up against the last place Bishop’s Gaiters. However, unlike the real story, Goliath won this round.

Concordia did not fall short of expectations and won comfortably 52-0. With two season games remaining, the Stingers’ five straight wins are already good enough to guarantee an RSEQ playoff spot.

The win also further demonstrated how much depth the maroon and gold’s roster has. Many rookies and non-starters were given an opportunity to showcase what they can bring to the table if called upon.

“We’re very happy to get a lot of people on,” said coach Graeme McGravie. “We’re very happy with the way they played.”

Concordia struck early and often. On one of these plays, a highlight reel run, was made by Frederique Rajotte. She was able to get the ball and dissect the gaps made available to her, before finally putting it down in position for an easy conversion.

Bishop’s was a hungry team, as they have yet to score a try this season. They would fare no better against the stiff Concordia defence, which is one of the Stingers’ strongest assets year in and year out.

The closest Bishop’s came to scoring was through a string of penalties called against the Stingers. This brought the Gaiters to the Stingers 30-yard line. Even from there, the home team was unable to beat the impenetrable wall of defenders.

“Historically were a very good defensive team,” said Jackie Tittley. “It’s good that we’re keeping to tradition. This defence is going to come in handy come playoffs.”

Concordia’s ease in dealing with the Bishop’s attack was in large part thanks to the team’s domination of set pieces. This was the reason for their heavily favored ball possession. This came into great use in the first half, as Concordia was consistently crashing the ball through the opposition. This took a toll on Bishop’s. The Gaiters had little energy in the second half.

This dominating style has clearly been effective this season and the team hopes it will get them through the upcoming schedule.

 

The Stingers’ next face off is against the Université de Montréal Carabins on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.

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Men’s rugby team earn first victory

Concordia won their first men’s rugby game of the season on home field during a rainy Friday night.

“The forwards won us the game,” said assistant coach Jamal Benouahi.

While Concordia’s tries were all scored by the back three, it was an outright dominating performance from the set piece that won the Stingers the game.

Second row Marc Roche had a standout game for the maroon and gold. He credits the team’s work on the practice pitch for the victory.

“It came down to practice,” Roche said. “Tonight it all came together and we drove them the hell off that ball.”

The first half saw both Concordia and Université de Montréal playing rather evenly in terms of possession and defense. The rain made it difficult for both teams to properly handle the ball, as a lot of knock-ons were being handed out.

The low point of the half was a complete meltdown from the Stingers in the 14th minute that lead directly to a Carabins try. The ball made its way down the wing through a series of offloads. Fortunately, this mistake did not decide the outcome. The Stingers pressed hard and defended effectively for the rest of the half.

The team came out flying in the second half. From the start, the Stingers’ back three showed how dangerous they are when they play to their ability and the line is able to provide them with the ball.

Only three minutes in, the Stingers broke down their opponent’s rush. Stinger Caleb Jordan snagged the ball and left defenders in awe with his sharp cuts and quick feet.

Con U’s second try was scored after a series of unorthodox plays forced a penalty and a scrum-down on U de M’s side of the pitch. As they did all game, Concordia won the set piece and took the ball wide to Frederic Kacou. He found an impossible gap sneaking into the try zone.

The icing on the cake came with 11 minutes remaining. Full back Vasken Redwanly got hold of the ball at midfield, after Jordan offloaded to him, letting him take off down the field. Redwanly left every Carabins defender behind before putting the ball down with authority in the far side of the try zone

“We know that we can beat the defense,” said Kacou. “When we get it, we know it’s going to work.”

“I’m proud of the forwards for keeping us in the game when the backs had trouble early,” said Captain Dario Pellizzari.

Getting rid of the goose egg in the win column was a must for the Stingers who now head out on the road.

“We have a platform for our game and we’re going to work from there,” said head coach Clive Gibson.

 

The Stingers head to Bishop’s University to face off against the Gaiters on Friday, Sept. 28 at 8:15 p.m.

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Concordia’s women’s rugby team defeat Ottawa 41-5

Concordian file photo

The rain came down with a vengeance on Friday night, much like the Concordia women’s rugby team, shutting the University of Ottawa down 41-5.

Ottawa was, however, a force to be reckoned with. This was made obvious during the warm-up when they strapped on their pinneys and played an opposed five-minute game before Concordia even had their jerseys on. They showed off their hard, low hits that would have made a prop flinch.

Despite the poor weather, the Stingers were still able to keep control and push the Gee Gees to their limits. The game started off slow but picked up pace when Con U scored its first try in the first 10 minutes.

Ottawa scored their first try in the second half with 12 minutes left. They were not able to make the conversion kick to bump it up to a seven-point gain.

Concordia definitely felt the heat Ottawa brought to the pitch. After a series of fumbled balls and useless passes, they made it on the right track and started playing like a true pack. The wind and rain made simply holding the ball harder not to mention trying to pass it from scrum half to fly half. It was evident the Stingers have been practicing their lineouts, scoring twice off of a perfect drive. They also dominated both scrums and rucks, pushing Ottawa over the try line with ease.

“I think we excel in open play,” said head coach Graeme McGravie. “We have some real players there in Bianca Farella and [captain] Jackie Tittley.”

This was proved when Farella, with barely two minutes left in the game, broke through the pack and ran 50 yards to the try line, scoring their last try of the night. Tittley was tripped during the second half and struggled to get up. She did, however, come back into play and join her teammates, kicking a heartbreaking conversion that bounced off the goalposts.

As for the future, McGravie says he’s confident in his team’s ability to make it to nationals.

“Based on preseason and the opener, I expect us to win the league,” he said. “Although, beating McGill and Laval is going to be tough for sure.”

The Stingers have not played Laval yet but recently beat McGill 18-7 in the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup. Concordia is currently sixth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport rankings, right above McGill and two below Laval. Considering Concordia’s impressive undefeated record in league play, it should not be hard for any player to envision themselves at nationals.

 

Concordia’s next game is against Bishop’s on Friday, Sept. 28 at 6:15 p.m.

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Stingers fall to crosstown rivals

Concordia’s men’s rugby team took to the field to face the McGill Redmen on Wednesday night at Concordia Stadium. This was the first meeting between both schools since last year’s final.

The Stingers looked to settle the difference in this game, but poorly executed set plays led to another loss to their rivals. McGill won the match 22-10.

The first half was highlighted with great defense and heart from the Stingers. They opened the game with tons of pressure against a Redmen side that did not respond favourably to the tactics. McGill committed an abundance of penalties as a result.

The first points on the board came out of an outstanding tackle by Stingers flanker Paul Bouet. This sparked a lapse in judgment from the Redmen and gave rookie centre and kicker Joey Fulginiti great field position from 30 yards out. He easily made the kick to give the Stingers a three-point lead. The rest of the half was spent fending off the opposition.

Concordia rookie Fulginiti has integrated well with the team. During Wednesday’s game, he had five points against McGill and while some rookies feel pressure, Fulginiti otherwise.

“It’s a great atmosphere, as a rookie, you don’t feel like one and were a very close knit family,” he said.

A late penalty by Concordia allowed McGill one last effort to put up points. The Redmen successfully managed to keep the ball and scored a try. The conversion was good, giving them a 7-3 lead going into the second half.

While McGill played with some degree of difficulty in the first half, the second 40 minutes saw a completely different team. The Redmen were successful on a majority of their set-piece plays and managed to steal possession away from the Stingers. This gave the visitors’ backs ample opportunities to move the ball up the field. McGill scored two tries and kicked for three points to give them a 22-3 lead.

Losing the set piece battle made it difficult for the Stingers backs to see any possession. The team spent all but the last moments of the game in their half of the field. A lightning fast run by Freddy Kacou resulted in a late try thanks to an offload from teammate Fulginiti. These were the last points of the game.

“We’ve got the guys who are buying into the game plan, thinking tactically, and I’m very happy,” said head coach Clive Gibson. “There is still work to be done, but we have time. This gives us a good platform to work on.”

“It was a game of two different halves,” said Stingers flanker Bouet. “The first half we played pretty well, minus the mental breakdown at the end. I think in the second [half] we continued to make those same mental mistakes.”

The Stingers have an important fixture next week against Université de Montréal. A win is even more crucial as the team no longer has the luxury of a guaranteed playoff spot.

Concordia faces off against U de M on Friday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. at Concordia Stadium.

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Season opener ends in disappointment

Photos by Brianna Thicke

Hoping to make a statement against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, the Stingers rugby team came up short in their home opener on Friday night.

“We put ourselves under a load of pressure and we didn’t need too,” said Head Coach Clive Gibson. “We did not play according to our game plan.”

The squad had prepared for a more positive start to the season, but it was clear that this is still a young roster.

The speed of the back line is one of the Stingers strongest assets. Unfortunately, the ball rarely made its way towards them in this game due to many penalties and dropped balls. Concordia was unable to retain ball possession and an abundance of unforced errors cost the team their first game of the season.

While the offensive side of the ball wasn’t clicking, the defense handled itself very well. They were constantly being threatened but managed to fend off the opposition for the majority of the game.

The lack of discipline was also a problem for the Stingers. They received two yellow cards which cost them a player for 10 minutes on both occasions.

“Being short a man for 20 minutes of the game makes it very tough to win,” added Gibson.

Concordia managed to play well throughout the first penalty by applying a lot of pressure. On the second one, the defense was strong.

In the later stages of the match, Sherbrooke capitalized over a tired Stingers team, scoring a try in the final 10 minutes of the game to put them up 14-13. This would become the final score of the game.

Concordia will not have much time to practice this week as they play on Wednesday against rivals McGill. The team will look to improve on decision-making with the ball, their game plan and teamwork.

“The level of play is too high,” added Gibson. “If they don’t learn to play as a team, they’re never going to win, not at this level.”

This loss, however, was not perceived as a back-breaker by captain Dario Pellizzari. He said this loss should not be viewed as a step back in the squad’s progress, but rather a stepping stone for the greater challenges that await the Stingers in the next few weeks.

“Fortunately we have another seven games in the season to pull ourselves together and make a cup run,” he said. “This loss may prove to do us [good] in the end.”

 

The game against McGill on Wednesday is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Concordia Stadium.

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