Rugby X-Women defeat Panthers in home opener
The CIS ranked No. 4 StFX X-Women improved to 2-0 in the regular season after a 71-0 win over the UPEI Panthers Sunday afternoon in AUS rugby action.
The CIS ranked No. 4 StFX X-Women improved to 2-0 in the regular season after a 71-0 win over the UPEI Panthers Sunday afternoon in AUS rugby action. More than 500 fans were on hand at Oland Stadium in Antigonish, N.S.
"We played really, really hard for 60 minutes, but we were outworked in the last 20," fifth-year lock Emma Taylor (Scotsburn, NS) said after the match.
In a balanced offensive attack, Taylor opened the scoring in the first minute with the first of her four tries. After a Miranda Sample (Havelock, Que.) try and Anna Simonds (Saint John, N.B.) conversion, the X-Women led 12-0 in the third minute.
Tasha McKenzie (Indian Brook, N.S.) and Joanna Alphonso (Ajax, Ont.) scored tries in the 12th and 15th minutes, respectively, to give StFX a 22-0 advantage.
In the 27th minute, Simonds kicked the conversion after a Danielle Robb (Shanigan Lake, B.C.) try to give the X-Women a 29-0 lead.
After tries from Breanna Allison (Cole Harbour, N.S.) in the 29th minute and Simonds (37th minute), StFX led 39-0 at half-time.
Back-to-back tries from Taylor, along with a conversion from Simonds, gave the X-Women a 49-0 lead by the 46th minute of action. Alphonso, a freshman, scored her second try in the 49th minute, while Allison garnered her second in the 58th minute.
Sample, with her second try (68th minute), and Taylor (75th) rounded out the X-Women offensive attack. X-Women scrum half Zahra Batool (Waterloo, Ont.) received Subway player of the game honors for her on-field efforts.
"UPEI never gave up; they outworked us in the last 20 minutes," X-Women head coach Mike Cavanagh said after the match. "We got the win, but we also have lots of work to do," he added.
The Panthers will host the Saint Mary's Huskies (0-2) Saturday, Sept. 20, in Charlottetown, beginning at 2 p.m. On the same day, the X-Women will travel to Wolfville to face the Acadia Axewomen (2-0), in a re-match of last season's AUS championship game.
"We need to play for 80 minutes. If we do that, I think we will do well," Taylor said of the upcoming battle for first place.
The opening kick-off for the X-Women-Axewomen is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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