Women’s Rugby – Page 2

Despite having the home field advantage and a sea of maroon and-gold sitting in the bleachers, Concordia’s women’s rugby team lost 27-22 to the Laval Rouge et Or on Friday night.

Graeme McGravie, Stingers head coach, said the team is happy with the game but disappointed with the result.

“We played really well but left too many scoring chances on the field, especially in the first half,” he said, “and we paid for it.”

Laval has been a strong competitor so far this season. They placed first in the RSEQ conference with seven wins and zero losses. Concordia finished in second place with six wins and one loss.

The game started off in Laval’s favour; their first try – with conversion – happened within the first 10 minutes of the first half. Concordia fought hard to get back on top, bringing the score to 7-3 with a penalty kick. Bianca Farella showed promise with a breakthrough six minutes to the end of the half, but got taken down five yards from the try line. Laval finished off the half with a penalty kick, bringing the score to 10-3.

It was obvious, in the first half, that Laval was strong in the scrum and aggressive in the rucks. They had an excellent back line made up of fast players who regularly broke through Concordia’s defense.

However, Concordia picked it up in the second half, scoring three tries and two conversion kicks. The more impressive of the tries was the second, which happened 30 minutes into the half by hooker Jessica Beaudry. Concordia was lined up perfectly on offense at the five-yard line and pushed hard to get through Laval’s defensive line.

The crowd was visibly impressed with the second half; you could hear the supportive cheers all the way from Deli Pat and fans were on the edge of their seats cheering on the female Stingers. They played with more force and determination, using Laval’s weaknesses to their advantage.

Unfortunately, Laval scored two more times with conversions and started off the second half with a perfect penalty kick, bringing the final score to a close 27-22.

Regardless of the loss, Concordia has one vital motivating factor: optimism.

“If we play that well again, and stop some of the brain farts we had, we can win it all,” said McGravie. “But we have to execute our chances.”

The Stingers will play the McGill Martlets in the semi-finals of the RSEQ division this Friday. The winner will face the victor of the semi-final between Laval and Ottawa.

Concordia plays the Martlets on Friday, Oct. 19 at Concordia Stadium. The elimination game starts at 7 p.m.

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team remains undefeated after an 18-7 victory against the McGill Martlets on Wednesday night. This is Concordia’s fourth time winning the annual game dedicated to Kelly-Anne Drummond.

Concordia opened the scoring eight minutes into the game. Fly half Jackie Tittley successfully converted her kick to give the Stingers a 3-0 lead.

After possession went back and forth, Concordia had another chance to score from a kick. Tittley stepped up and put her side up 6-0.

The Martlets responded immediately by scoring a try less than a minute later. Back Brianna Miller grabbed possession on the ball and found a hole in the Stingers defence. Miller converted her own kick to give McGill a 7-6 lead over Concordia.

This was the last scoring play of the half. The first 40 minutes were closely contested, with both sides staying strong at the back.

“They were only scoring points because we were making mistakes,” said Stingers coach Graeme McGravie to his team at halftime. “If we eliminated the mistakes, we should win.”

McGravie was right. Concordia looked sharp as the second half started. Seven minutes in, Erika Ikonomopoulos scored the Stingers first try of the game. The team failed to score the extra points; the score remained at 11-7 for the Stingers.

At the 25′ minute mark, Ikonomopoulos found another opportunity and scored her second try to make it a two-possession game. Tittley converted the kick for extra points to give Concordia an 18-7 lead.

For the remaining 20 minutes, Concordia held up at the back and denied McGill any further points. The Stingers remained aggressive and stayed confident as the clock ticked down to zero.

The 18-7 victory means Concordia is now tied for first in the RSEQ standings, but more importantly the team has two wins and no losses so far this season.

“I thought our forwards dominated the set piece, which was huge for us tonight,” McGravie said.

“The 15 girls that were out there played well and didn’t try to do anything that was individual. As a collective unit, I thought we did very well.”

The team will travel to Ottawa to face Carleton this Sunday. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m.