W-RUGBY ROUNDUP: Guelph heads to Kingston for OUA Championships
The Guelph Gryphons will now look to win their third straight OUA title as they travel to Kingston to play the Queen’s Gaels in the OUA Championship next Saturday (Oct. 30) at Kingston Field with kickoff scheduled for 12:00pm. The Gaels earned the other spot in the Championships after defeating the Waterloo Warriors 15-8 today in the other OUA semi-final.
In today’s game, Guelph was forced to play team rugby against a tough McMaster squad. In previous games, individual athletes were able to showcase their talent, but against McMaster's hard tackles and quickness off the mark, Guelph relied on each other for support and continuity.
In the first 20 minutes of the game, Guelph’s pack was driving hard in the rucks and pushing the pace with quick trail ball. The Gryphon backline came up against a disciplined defence and were forced to adjust their plays accordingly. Defensively, Guelph pushed hard against McMaster forcing them to rely on kicker Becky Delaney to gain territory. Fullback Katie McNally (Guelph, Ont.) fielded the kicks with poise and Guelph was able to attack from anywhere on the field.
Jacey Murphy (Alliston, Ont.) once again led the Gryphons with three tries while the other four came from Mimi Rahneva (Ottawa), rookie Sharon Rafferty (Brantford, Ont.), Lisa Shellington (Brantford, Ont.) and Lindsey Peebles (Oakville, Ont.).
After a stellar first half, the Gryphons lost a little intensity until the substitutions came on with fresh legs. The pace was once again pushed, keeping McMaster on the back foot.
"It was a tremendous game of team rugby today. We finally looked like the team we knew we could be," said head coach Colette McAuley.
Queen's will host the OUA Championship next Saturday against the Guelph Gryphons at Kingston Field with kickoff scheduled for 12:00pm. Guelph trampled McMaster 39-0 in the other OUA semifinal to qualify for the championship.
The win also guarantees Queen's a berth in the CIS Championship held November 4 – 7 in Peterborough, Ont. The appearance in the CIS Championship is the Gaels first since rugby became a CIS sport in 1998.
Ash Ward of Barrie, Ont., and Karlye Wong of Ottawa posted a try each while Annika Rinas of Oakville, Ont., contributed five points on a conversion and penalty goal in the semifinal win.
Sam Eyles of Erin, Ont., scored Waterloo's only try in the match while Valerie Bigelow of Thornhill, Ont. had a penalty goal.
Queen's held a slim 10-8 advantage before adding a try late in the game to secure the win.
The win marks the first time since 1995 the Gaels have qualified to play in the OUA Championship final.