On Oct. 5, the Carleton Ravens women’s rugby team clinched the playoffs, rolling over the McGill University Martlets 75-0.
The Ravens came back in the game after two straight losses; this victory means the Ravens end the season with no points scored against at home.
Head coach Pat Thompson said the game was “a huge testament to the very hard work of the team’s defence.”
The effective two-way play of the Ravens was on display from the opening seconds. After the Ravens kicked off, the front eight quickly forced a turnover, the half-backs moved the ball to the wing Maya Addai, allowing her to run in the try.
After the try, fly half Jessica Jourbarne, who started her night of kicking, knocking through her first of 10 consecutive conversions.
The gut-punch of the try in the first minute of play was a knock that McGill could not recover from. The avalanche of the Ravens attack rolled through the opposing defence, with Addai notching another try.
Ending her rugby career on a high was on veteran player S.J. Vezina’s mind from before the opening whistle.
“This is my last home game,” she said. “I love this sport . . . I love these girls. There’s so much trust and so much love. That’s what we do out there—we play for the love of this sport and we play for each other. We run hard, we hit hard, we score hard.”
The second half of the game bore largely the same results for the team.
The Ravens backpedaled against the Martlets’ offence. Good tackling allowed the Ravens to give the ball to Addai, who broke a massive run to score her third try of the game.
After the game, Addai thanked her team for their strong tactical play to set up the scores and pointed to her graduating teammates as the motivation for her big night.
“I was completely out there playing for them—they’re all such role models and mentors,” she said. “Without them, I don’t know where I would have been in my first or second year. I’m going to miss them so much next year.”
At the end of the game, Thompson recognized each of the team’s graduating players with a commemorative photo. He thanked them for their contribution in developing the program and that “without them, the success of this program this year would not be possible.”
The Ravens will look to finish the regular season strong when they take on Bishop’s University on the road on Oct. 14.
Photo by Tim Austin
