GAME INFO
Concordia (6-2) at Ottawa (8-0)
Friday, October 28
7 p.m.
Matt Anthony Field
Tickets available online
Defence will be the focus for the undefeated, no. 3 nationally ranked uOttawa women’s rugby team when it hosts the Concordia Stingers at home for the RSEQ Championship on Friday night. These two teams went head to head in the 2015 conference final game ending in a 25-17 win for the Gee-Gees. Ottawa also won the 2015 CIS National Championship Bronze medal over the Stingers with a triumphant 65-7 win.
The Gee-Gees weathered the elements in their semi-final game, walking out with a 26-5 win over Montréal. The team led 26-0 until the final moments, and head Coach Jen Boyd described it as a “really tremendous 25-player effort. Our defence was just impenetrable; they couldn’t put it through.” Boyd also highlights the defensive performance of fifth-year back row Chanelle Fortin, “[she] was a monster, it is the only way to describe it, she made so many tackles.” Emma Sandstrom, a fourth-year centre from Ottawa adds, “we were really solid defensively, we were extremely disciplined.”
uOttawa met Concordia in conference play in an extremely close 20-17 win for the Gee-Gees back on September 25. Sandstrom lends insight into the Gee-Gees performance, “defensively, that is where we struggled, defending their forwards.” Boyd adds, “defence is typically one of our strengths, we just didn’t perform last time.” The team looks to improve upon these elements leading up to Friday’s final match.
As uOttawa has played Concordia in several high stakes games in the past year, they have an idea of the threats the Stingers present. “They have two national team centre players, and a really strong eight-man, those are the players we need to shut down.” says Sandstrom. Concordia’s eight-man is third-year civil engineering student, Jenna Thompson. The pair of Stingers national team players are fourth-years Alexandra Tessier and Frédérique Rajotte. uOttawa centre, third-year Danarae Sommerville, says, “We need to stick to our game plan and play a dynamic game of rugby.”
Following the RSEQ Championship, both Ottawa and Concordia will head west for the CIS National Championship. The tournament will take place in Victoria, B.C. from November 3-6. uOttawa has played teams from three of the four conferences going into nationals, most recently in their exhibition games against St. FX. Seedings and schedule information will be released on Sunday, October 30.