X-Women Rugby defeat Trent in first round of CIS playoffs
GAME 1 Pool B: CIS women’s rugby championship
AUS champ StFX off to great start, blanks hosts 37-0
Courtesy Trent University sports information
Nov. 4, 2010
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. (CIS) – The AUS champion St. Francis Xavier X-Women got off to a great start in Pool B at the CIS women’s rugby championship as they cruised to a 37-0 win over the tournament host Trent Excalibur, Thursday afternoon, at Trent University’s Justin Chiu Stadium.
The X-Women, 13-time champions in as many years in the Atlantic conference, are on a mission this week in Peterborough. StFX, which captured its lone Monilex trophy in 2006, returned to the national final each of the past two seasons, only to lose to Lethbridge on both occasions.
Against Trent – making its first-ever appearance at the CIS tourney – Courtnay Malcolm of New Glasgow, N.S., opened the scoring only four minutes in with a try that was converted by freshman Magali Harvey of Quebec City, and the X-Women never looked back.
Right after the ensuing kickoff, the X-Women used their fast-paced off-loading game to move the ball back deep into Trent territory. Hooker Julie Emmerson of Moncton, N.B., followed the ball to the wide side of the field and drove the ball in to establish a lead which StFX never in danger of relinquishing.
Amanda Bedard of Belleisle, N.B., then quickly scored her first try on a long-slashing run around the end of the Trent defence. Just as it looked as if the AUS champions were going to run away to one of the high final scores that they are used to achieving against their league rivals, the Excalibur seemed to dig down and get back into the game. Kristine Boyles of Peterborough repeatedly kicked clearing balls to touch to give her team breathing room.
Not until late in the half did Amanda Thornborough of Brandon, Man., score another try to give the X-Women a 22-0 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Harvey, who was a threat every time she touched the ball, scored and it appeared that her team was about to be able to score at will.
Well-placed kicks from Boyles and scrum half Ashley Burton, also of Peterborough, continued to gain territory for Trent while the forwards counter-rucked fiercely throughout the rest of the game.
Thornborough and Bedard both scored again however, as the X-Women backs demonstrated their strength and speed in sealing their 37-0 win.
Players of the match were Thornborough for StFX and Peterborough’s Ashley Burton for Trent.
X-Women head coach Mike Cavanagh gave the Trent team full credit for playing hard right to the end. He credited much of his team’s success to his three back row players and stated that his squad will need to work at getting even more clean balls to his backs in their next game against Guelph.
Trent coach Nancy Marcotte stated that she was proud of the way her players never quit and felt that they had earned some respect from the quality of their play. The game turned on several narrowly missed tackles against the much more experienced X-Women, seven of whom play for the Canada U20’s.
The win gives StFX (1-0) the early preliminary round lead in Pool B. The X-Women now enjoy a well-deserved break until Saturday at 1:30 p.m., when they will face the OUA champion and 2009 CIS bronze medallist Guelph Gryphons (0-0) in their second and final Pool B duel.
Trent faces Guelph Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The top teams in Pools A and B at the end of the preliminary round advance directly to Sunday’s championship final.
In the Pool A opener earlier Thursday, three-time defending CIS champion Lethbridge (1-0) edged Queen’s (0-1) 15-12 in overtime.
Queen’s faces Concordia (0-0) Friday at 11 a.m. in the lone Pool A matchup of Day 2, while Lethbridge and Concordia will square off on Saturday morning.
SCORING SUMMARY
SFX: 22-15: 37
TRE: 0-0: 0
First half
1. SFX: Courtnay Malcolm (5), Magali Harvey (2)
2. SFX: Julie Emmerson (5)
3. SFX: Amanda Bedard (5)
4. SFX: Amanda Thornborough (5)
Second half
5. SFX: Emma Taylor (5)
6. SFX: Amanda Thornborough (5)
7. SFX: Amanda Bedard (5)
Players of the game
SFX: Amanda Thornborough (Brandon, Man.)
TRE: Ashley Burton (Peterborough, Ont.)
Legend:
(5) Try: 5 points
(3) Penalty goal: 3 points
(2) Convert: 2 points
For all the info on the 2010 CIS women’s rugby championship, visit: www.cis-sic.ca
POOL STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Pool A (after 1 of 3 games)
GP W L PF PA PTS
1. Lethbridge 1 1 0 15 12 4
2. Concordia 0 0 0 0 0 0
3. Queen’s 1 0 1 12 15 1
Pool B (after 1 of 3 games)
GP W L PF PA PTS
1. StFX 1 1 0 37 0 5
2. Guelph 0 0 0 0 0 0
3. Trent 1 0 1 0 37 0
NOTE: A win is worth 4 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.
Thursday, Nov. 4
11:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 15, Queen’s 12 (OT)
13:30 Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 37, Trent 0
Friday, Nov. 5
11:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Queen’s vs. Concordia (SSN Canada webcast)
13:30 Round-Robin Pool B: Trent vs. Guelph (SSN Canada webcast)
Saturday, Nov. 6
11:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge vs. Concordia (SSN Canada webcast)
13:30 Round-Robin Pool B: StFX vs. Guelph (SSN Canada webcast)
Sunday, Nov. 7
10:00 5th place: Third place Pool A vs. third place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)
12:00 Bronze medal: Second place Pool A vs. second place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Championship final: First place Pool A vs. first place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.