A Good Week

Women’s Rugby Raises Money and Notches First Win of Season

SportsDavid Kaufmann — Published September 14, 2010

It took some time, but Concordia’s women’s rugby team scored a couple of late game tries to post a come from behind 31-14 victory over the Ottawa Gee Gees last Sunday in the season opener.

“It was a cruel win. I think Ottawa totally deserved to win,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie about his team’s performance.

Prior to the win on Sunday, the Stingers held their annual Kelly Anne Drummond Cup last Wednesday in which they emerged victorious in a 3-0 battle with the McGill Martlets. They raised $1,500 for Women Aware—a group based in Montreal whose goal is to assist women who have been the victims of violence.

After the preseason win, the Stingers were thrown into scalding water early in Sunday’s game as Gee Gees prop Esinam Agbeyaka wasted no time putting her team on the board.

But it was Stingers rookie Cara Stuckey who answered back with a try to tie the score up. They would add to their tally in the first half, before Gee Gees winger Nicole Deacon put her team on top again.

The Stingers spent most of the second half behind the eight-ball, as it seemed they couldn’t get through the opposition’s defence. There were some missed attempts here and there, but moments before the game’s conclusion the Stingers got out of the funk they were in, as Stuckey added her second try of the game.

Centre Jackie Tittley added her stamp on the victory with an insurance try of her own.

Overall, McGravie was pleased with the victory, but thought his team could have played better.

“We played well enough to win,” he said. “I think it’s the fact that a lot of new players are playing together for really the first time.”

McGravie’s players had a similar opinion about the game.

“We definitely need to work on being on the same page,” Tittley said when asked on what the Stingers need to improve for the next game.

Yet McGravie was still pleased with his team’s perseverance.

“We stuck it in there,” he said. “I think we knew we could win, and we had to start playing physically, and we couldn’t do that and we had started taking over little bits and pieces.”

Gee Gees head coach Suzanne Chaulk also felt her team’s performance was inconsistent.

“They played 40 minutes of excellent rugby and 40 minutes of questionable rugby,” she said. “They let themselves down in the last 20 minutes. “They lost their focus, they started making stupid mental mistakes and they panicked instead of refocusing and staying organized.”

The Stingers will try to make it two in a row when they take on the powerful Laval Rouge et Or at Loyola field Friday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 05, published September 14, 2010.