THE GEES FINISH IN SIXTH PLACE AT THE U SPORTS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP IN VANCOUVER
The final weekend of October was a big one for the Gee-Gees women’s rugby squad, traveling across the country to Vancouver to compete in the U SPORTS Championship.
Coming into the tournament as the eighth seed, the Gees battled it out against the tournament favourites, the Victoria Vikes. The quarter-final would come to a close with a final score of 41-8. To the Gees’ credit, they did hold the lead early on in the game after a goal kick from Claire Bennett in the 16th minute, followed by a try from flanker Tian Wiens giving the Gees an 8-7 lead.
Now, in the consolation bracket following the quarter-final loss, the Gees played the St. FX X-Women’s squad. From the opening whistle, the Gees clearly presented themselves as the dominant team in this lopsided match-up. The Gees were spreading the scoring across almost the entire team with a list of try scores: Sydney Noseworthy twice, Sophie McDonald twice, Ngozi Mosindi, Alysia Comtois, Quynh-Ni Au, Grace Dingwall, and Camryn Holland. Totaling a final score of 55-3 for the Gees.
On Sunday, the Gees were set to play for fifth place against a familiar opponent, a team that dominated them in the RSEQ, the Laval Rouge et Or. The third meeting between the RSEQ rivals went as expected as the Rouge et Or dominated the Gees, 19-0 by the half, and 40-14 as the final score with tries from Comtois and Dingwall for the Gees.
After entering the tournament as the eighth seed, a sixth-place finish for the Gees is a relative success. Canada’s U SPORTS rugby tournament is no joke, filled with extremely talented teams ready to give it all they’ve got. In a sport as brutal as rugby, the Gees squad earned some much-needed recovery time and will gear up for next season.
