Despite the rain and cold, the Carleton Ravens women’s rugby team defeated the Bishop’s University Gaiters 48-0, marking Carleton’s third win in a row.
Fans huddled under umbrellas and warm coats on the sidelines of Ravens Field and although those attending the game may have been shivering, the team adapted well to the damp conditions.
“We’ve been training in the rain for a while, so it wasn’t that big of a shock to us,” centre Lauryn Walker said. “We did have a couple of mistakes, a couple of drop balls, but honestly, our team just adjusted and we let the rain work to our advantage.”
The Ravens stuck to their previously successful strategy of moving the ball out wide quickly and efficiently. However, the weather did make it harder for the team to keep their hands on the slippery ball.
“We adjusted after the first couple knock-ons knowing we just have to tighten up a bit and it’s harder to catch the ball,” head coach David Luong said. “Because it’s hard to catch the ball, we put the ball up in the air and we moved the ball that way.”
Coming off two huge wins against McGill University—including the largest margin of victory in team history last weekend—the team had to fight even harder to push back against the Gaiters.
“We knew Bishop’s was going to be tougher than the previous two matches,” Luong said. “For us, it was remaining focused on the plan knowing that it was going to be raining and adapting to the weather.”
Combined with their last two matches, the Ravens have now outscored their opponents 213-5 over the last three weeks.
The team had a lot of success Sunday with the kick and chase during the game, making Bishop’s defence work hard to stop the team from progressing.
“We’re always trying to manipulate the defence in our favour,” Luong said. “[We know] that if we keep attacking the line, they’ll have to move one up and then we’ll kick the ball down and chase.”
The team played its previous two home games at Ravens Perch and Sunday’s game was the team’s first of the year at Ravens Field.
“For our last home game, to play where we’ve been playing for years, it’s actually quite exciting and I think that really helps to be on familiar ground,” Walker said.
While the game was in the Ravens’ hands from the very beginning—Carleton led 34-0 by halftime—the Ravens did receive several warnings from the referee in the first half and penalties remained a concern for the team moving forward.
“The penalty trouble was our main concern in the second half,” Luong said. “Truth be told, we’ll have to clean up a lot of stuff that we’ve been doing and be a little more disciplined, especially if we’re going to be playing refs that might be a little tighter on certain calls.”
For some players in their last year of eligibility, this was their last home game before playing the Université de Montréal and Bishop’s again on the road. The season is only two-thirds over, but with two away games followed by playoffs, the team will most likely be travelling for the rest of the year.
“We’re riding on a high right now especially after the year we had before COVID-19 just constantly losing,” Walker said. “Being able to work with these girls and get the results that we’re getting is just really exciting.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
