X-Women preparing to tackle new season

Some of the faces may be different this season, but the goals remain the same for the StFX X-Women rugby team.

"We have about 16 or 17 new girls coming in; some pretty good ones, so we are excited about that," veteran head coach Mike Cavanagh said about the turnover in personnel from last season.

"We lost a couple of key players, but I think – between the returning players and the incoming rookies – we could be in the hunt for another national championship."

Holes to fill include the loss of former co-captains Natalie Lesco and Catharine MacKeigan.

"They were not only great players, but also great leaders," Cavanagh said of the graduating pair.

"They led by example, on and off the field. It is hard to find good leaders, like that, but on the plus side we have four girls who were injured last year who will be returning; we hope that they will be ready to help us."

Those returnees, after a one-year absence, are Ellen Murphy (Augustine Cove, PE), Miranda Sample (Havelock, QC), Breanna Allison (Cole Harbour, NS) and Beckie Clark (Summerside, PE).

"They all give us a wealth of experience. They were all on our [last] national championship team and they all started," Cavanagh said.

"Hopefully, they are going to slide right in, take the brunt of this leadership. I think those four there will be enough to get us out of our conference."

New faces

Topping the recruiting class list for the X-Women is Antigonish native Sarah McCarron, who is a product of the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School program.

"I think she is going to be a great player. She's got a ton of potential," Cavanagh said.

"I think there will be a little bit of a learning curve for her, but once she gets going she is going to be very, very good for us."

Alex Hamilton, another Nova Scotian, joins the X-Women from Cole Harbour. "She is a prop, and she is going to help us right away," Cavanagh said.

Sammie Nadeau, from Peterborough, was a member of the Ontario provincial team, who plays fullback. "She is going to be very good," Cavanagh said.

Meghan Buchanan hails from Lethbridge, Alberta. "She is a big center who is also going to help us," the bench boss said.

Sophie Parker is a student-athlete from the Annapolis Valley, who captains the Nova Scotia Under-18 team. "She plays in the back row and she is a great player. We are really excited to get her," Cavanagh said.

Carleigh Walters, a British Columbia product, is "a little speedster," according to the X-Women leader. "She is going to give us more team speed, which we were lacking, so that is going to be great," he said.

Coming together

With so many new players, along with the aforementioned foursome returning after a missed season, Cavanagh agreed that training camp and the pre-season will be keys to creating cohesiveness.

"It is going to be about getting on the same page," he said.

"You know, you get two weeks – it seems like a long time – but really it is not."

During the first week of camp, Cavanagh said the focus will be on areas, such as "learning our systems and getting to know each other."

From there, the X-Women will participate in their traditional pre-season tournament, in Truro, on the Saturday of Labour Day Weekend.

"We will put two teams in that. It will be our first real chance to see how everyone can play and then, from there, we will select our team for the year."

The following Friday (Sept. 9) the X-Women kick-off the regular season, when they host the Saint Mary's Huskies at StFX Stadium in a 7 p.m. start.

"It is not much time, but it is enough time that we should be able to get done what we have to get done," Cavanagh said.

'Fit' to be champions

As for the keys to garnering another AUS championship and a trip to the CIS championship tournament, he said "our biggest problem from last year was we weren't fit enough to be national champions."

"After winning the national championship two years ago, a lot of girls took the summer off and didn't put in the hard work; they forgot all those little things that made you a champion," Cavanagh said.

"So, this year, we have been after them; they have been working hard. We have had a couple of fitness tests and they had to send in their scores, and everyone seems to be much higher."

Cavanagh added the X-Women have "to realize that teams aren't going to roll over for us."

"We have to show up to play every game. Our league is getting tougher and tougher – and right across the country," he said.

"They have to realize that they cannot afford to take off games. You have to show up every game to play."

Cavanagh was asked if this team is capable of a return to familiar territory for the program – the CIS final play downs.

"If we keep improving – week-in and week-out – if we put in the hard work, I think so. I think, if not this year, within a year or two, I believe this team definitely has the potential to do it," he said.

"Again, if we put in the hard work, which I think we did, I think it is going to make our job a lot easier.

"We have a lot of really experienced players – those four players coming back from injury are really going to help us, and I am really excited about this year."

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