X-Women blank host UBC in opener

GAME 1 Pool B: 2009 CIS women’s rugby championship
Courtesy UBC Sports Information/CIS

VANCOUVER (CIS) – The 2008 silver medallist St. Francis Xavier X-Women are one step closer to returning to the national final following an 18-0 shutout of tournament host UBC in the Pool-B opener of the CIS women’s rugby championship, Friday morning.

The X-Women, who outscored their Atlantic conference opponents 423-26 this fall on their way to a 12th consecutive AUS banner, were heavy favourites on paper against the Thunderbirds but a spirited effort by the hosts kept the game’s result in question until late in the second half.

“Defensively we were pretty sound. UBC is a good team and we knew they would give us a tough game but offensively we didn’t adapt to the weather,” said StFX head coach Mike Cavanagh, who led his team to its lone Monilex trophy title in 2006. “We were trying to make plays in this weather that just weren’t possible and it showed in our offensive performance. We need to keep things a lot tighter in our next game and play for territory. We don’t need to try and run 80 metres out.”

Territory was hard to come by in a back and forth first half that saw the X-Women take a 3-0 lead on a penalty goal by third-year wing Courtney Malcolm of New Glasgow, N.S.

Following the game’s opening score, there was little to give between the two sides until StFX was awarded a penalty try just before the break. Freshman Tyson Beukeboom scored and a Malcolm convert made it 10-0 at the half.

The hard-fought affair continued in the second frame but with the T-Birds unable to generate any points off their possession, the X-Women pulled away with a try from two-time CIS player of the year and four-time all-Canadian Ghislaine Landry of Toronto, and another penalty goal by Malcolm.

Despite the shutout loss, UBC head coach Lesley McKenzie saw a lot of positives in her team’s performance.

“The majority of the points we gave up came from our penalties so that is something completely fixable before our next game,” said the second-year boss and former T-Bird standout. “StFX is a very good team but I thought we were able to put a good amount of pressure on them. Our ability to get the ball in contact from them was really good and it gave us a fair bit of possession.”

The X-Women (1-0) get a break before taking on the OUA champion Guelph Gryphons (0-0) at 3 p.m. Pacific Time, while the T-Birds (0-1) are back at it in a must-win game against Guelph at 12:30 p.m.

The two teams with the best records at the end of Pool-B play advance to Saturday’s semi-finals.

SCORING SUMMARY

StFX 10-8: 18
UBC 0-0: 0

First half
1. StFX: Courtnay Malcolm (penalty goal, 3 points)
2. StFX: Tyson Beukeboom (penalty try, 5 points), Malcolm (convert, 2 points)

Second half
3. StFX: Courtnay Malcolm (3)
4. StFX: Ghislaine Landry (5)

Players of the Game
StFX: Jamee George (Brandon, Man.)
UBC: Lauren Nutt (Victoria, B.C.)

ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: PACIFIC)
For all the information on the championship: www.cis-sic.ca

Pool A
                        GP       W         L          T          PF        PA       PTS
1. Lethbridge   1          1          0          0          51        3          5
2. Concordia    0          0          0          0          0          0          0
3. Western       1          0          1          0          3          51        0

Pool B
                        GP       W         L          T          PF        PA       PTS
1. StFX              1          1          0          0          18        0          4         
2. Guelph         0          0          0          0          0          0          0
3. UBC              1          0          1          0          0          18        0

NOTE: a win is worth 4 points and a tie 2 points.
NOTE 2: 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 tries or more in a game, and 1 bonus point is allowed for a loss by 7 points or less.
NOTE: a win is worth 4 points and a tie 2 points.
NOTE 2: 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 tries or more in a game, and 1 bonus point is allowed for a loss by 7 points or less.

Friday, Nov. 6
Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 51, Western Ontario 3
Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 18, UBC 0
12:30 Round-Robin Pool A: Concordia vs. Western Ontario
12:30 Round-Robin Pool B: Guelph vs. UBC
15:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge vs. Concordia
15:00 Round-Robin Pool B: StFX vs. Guelph

Saturday, Nov. 7
11:00 semi-final 1: first place Pool A vs. second place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)
13:00 semi-final 2: second place Pool A vs. first place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)

Sunday, Nov. 8
10:00 5th place: third place Pool A vs. third place Pool B
12:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)