Women’s Rugby Decimates Sherbrooke

SportsAlex Di Pietro — Published October 5, 2010

The ConU women’s rugby Stingers did what was expected of them on Sunday at Loyola Campus, steamrolling over the Sherbrooke Vert et Or 92-0 and putting them within reach of a perfect season.

“The last two weeks have [provided] a good opportunity to see people play together,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie. “Even at 40-0 at halftime, I didn’t think it was a 40-0 game. There were still lots of things that we weren’t doing, that we had set out to do at the beginning of the week in practice, so we kept them [the starters] out there for an extra 10 minutes in the second.”

All the Stingers have to do is overcome the Laval Rouge et Or and the McGill Martlets in their final two league games to post a 6-0-0 record. It won’t be easy, however, as Laval is the only team that beat Concordia last year and was one point shy of tying the Stingers in their first encounter this year.

For the Vert et Or, Sunday’s game against Concordia couldn’t have come at a worse time. Many of Sherbrooke’s players are currently injured, so head coach Jean-Michel Diorio was looking for his team to gain experience.

“You have to be realistic and consider the teams play two different levels of rugby. Our goal is to play every game and not give up before the end, and I think the girls did that today, even though the score indicates otherwise,” said Diorio.
Among the long list of players who recorded tries on the weekend, center Jackie Tittley had another outstanding match for the Stingers, as she hit 11 of 14 converts and recorded two tries of her own.

Tittley’s first try came in the 62nd minute as she charged down the middle and teammate Erika Hamilton provided her with a firm pass, which enabled Tittley to run unchallenged past the try line.

Concordia rookie Gifty Asare made her first appearance for the Stingers and ran 60 yards to open her account in the 73rd minute.

“Laval’s our focus,” said McGravie. “If we win that [game], then we know we’re going to host a semifinal and a final, which would mean we could rest a little easier by knowing what the schedule’s going to be going forward. If we lose to them, then our destiny will be in somebody else’s hands and not our own.”

The Stingers will visit Quebec City Oct. 10 for the game with the Rouge et Or.

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 08, published October 5, 2010.