Carleton’s women’s rugby squad lost their first-ever game as a varsity-status team Sept. 2 on enemy turf against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The score of 41-7 for the Gee-Gees shows just how tough the Ravens’ newfound competition will be this year.
“We came out hard, we knew what we had to do and it just comes down to being tired,” said Jessica Harvey, who leads the Ravens’ back line. The girls were coming off a hard week of training camp and a large portion of the team is new, she said.
For years, the team played as a competitive club. They represented Carleton and played games and tournaments throughout the season, but now they’ve been upgraded to varsity status and are playing in the RSEQ (Quebec Regional Association) against teams like Concordia, McGill and Laval.
The Sunday-afternoon game was at the University of Ottawa’s Matt Anthony Field. The sun was shining and the stands were almost full. The Canadian anthem played before the game and the Gee-Gees’ mascot ran along the sidelines. It was a varsity-level atmosphere, complete with drunk and jeering Gee-Gee fans.
The first half started in the Ravens’ end and stayed that way, but Carleton held on. The defence worked hard, tackling charging Gee-Gees time and time again, only letting them through to score twice.
The Ravens didn’t get many offensive chances, but they capitalized on one of the few they had: Natasha Smith scored a try with nine minutes left in the half. Jessica Harvey kicked the ball through the uprights for the two-point conversion. At halftime, the Gee-Gees still ahead by a score of 10-7.
The Ravens stormed into the Gee-Gees’ zone at the beginning of the second half. The Gee-Gees struggled to contain the explosive Ravens offense, but the Carleton women couldn’t break through and after several minutes of close calls, the Gee-Gees pushed back and scored again. And again.
The pattern continued and by the final whistle the Gee-Gees had five tries and three conversions for a final score of 41-7.
“We did some really good things,” Harvey said despite the loss. They focused on their attacking plan throughout the game, Harvey said.
Ravens head coach Denis Blondin said he was disappointed with the result, and diagnosed that fatigue was the problem as well.
“We had what it takes to beat Ottawa U,” he said. “I thought we were the better team but the second half they just had a little bit more energy left.”
This game will help the Ravens players realize they need to maintain their intensity for the full 80 minutes of a game if they want to compete at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level, Blondin said.
But Blondin said the women’s rugby team’s spot in the top league is not undeserved. The program needed to prove it was able to compete.
That meant years of building up the team and playing games against squads with more skill, experience and support, he said.
Carleton’s athletic department was behind the team every step of the way, Blondin said.
“They backed us right from the beginning.”
Former coach Greg Hedgecoe was a big part of the drive for varsity status as well, Blondin said.
The Ravens have six more regular-season games left to make the impact they want to. “Our goal is make playoffs,” Blondin said.
“We have the potential to beat any team in our league.”
Their next challenge is beating McGill University Sept. 9 at Raven’s Field.
“We want to come out as the underdogs,” Harvey said.
“We want teams to know that we’re a threat. We want to take people by surprise.”
