Guelph and Queen’s to renew rivalry in repeat championship clash
Guelph, Ont. – The rivalry continues. For the second straight season, the Guelph Gryphons and Queen’s Gaels will meet in the OUA women’s rugby finale; going toe-to-toe to give their side the edge in the quest for not only the banner, but the glory.
2018 Women's Rugby Championship Fan Guide
These teams, who will both advance to the U SPORTS Championship next month (November 1-4) at Acadia University, are very familiar with one another, with both entering as top-five squads in the country and both finding themselves consistently among the final squads standing.
After earning the win a year ago, thanks to a 43-17 effort on home soil, the Gryphons pushed their incredible championship total to 15, having now medaled in 24 straight seasons. But while they have the edge in total banners over the Gaels, Queen’s does know a thing or two about competing on the provincial stage, as they handed Guelph a loss in the 2013 finale to pick up their lone championship banner in program history.
It’s not just in the postseason push that these teams face off; however, as for the second straight year, the Gryphons kicked off their campaign against the Gaels. After Queen’s opened their 2018 season with a convincing win over Western, the reigning champs tackled the Tricolour in their respective debut, picking up the win in their first big test of the year.
In what can only be described as a total team effort, six different Gryphons recorded tries en route to their 39-34 win, but the game was by no means smooth sailing throughout. Despite jumping out to a 24-point cushion, a furious Queen’s comeback made the final score much closer. Rachel Hickson (Ottawa, Ont.) was key to the Gaels second half push, tallying four tries, while Brodie Schmidt (Uxbridge, Ont.) was the lone Guelph player to record multiple tries in the game. With such a close result in hand, the encore is most assuredly up in the air.
Since their early-season meeting, both sides went on to win their remaining regular season contests, as the Gryphons went undefeated for the second straight year, while Queen’s ended at 3-1. The nationally-ranked squads were among the elite in every facet of the game this year, and their star-studded rosters are a testament to their skill.
At the centre of the Gaels attack is the Shiels Division Player of the Year, Sophie de Goede (Victoria, B.C.), who has shown that her award-winning rookie campaign was no fluke. After picking up 34 points in three contests a year ago– missing one contest to represent Canada in the Commonwealth Games – the 2017 OUA and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year racked up 46 in 2018 to rank fifth in the conference, leading her Gaels to their second straight championship game.
A big step in the team’s march toward another championship appearance was their semifinal victory last weekend. The Gaels, like they did in 2017, were able to best the McMaster Marauders in the OUA’s penultimate week, coming away with a 29-24 victory. As she did all season long, de Goede played a key role in the win, with her try building the team’s lead back up to 10 mid-way through the second half, but it was teammate Nadia Popov (Newmarket, Ont.) who really put her stamp on this one. In her final game at Nixon Stadium, Popov tallied 14 of her team’s 29 points (2 tries, 2 conversions); an effort that the Tricolour have become accustomed to over her four seasons at Queen’s.
After beginning her career in 2012 as the OUA Rookie of the Year, she hasn’t looked back, making an impact on the provincial, national, and international stage. The #OneTeam ambassador and Toronto 2015 Pan American Games gold medalist has earned an impressive resume during her time in the OUA, a stretch that saw her put up 41 points in her final campaign this year. She was third in the conference with 14 made conversions and will have her sights set on similar success to close out her OUA career on Saturday.
Along with de Goede and Popov, Hickson rounds out the triumvirate of Kingston-based all-stars and will come into the championship clash as the team’s leading scorer (50 points).
Despite the firepower, the Gaels aren’t the only ones to boast a high-octane attack, as the Gryphons have shown much of the same this year. Among the team’s highlights this season was a dominant 121-point performance against York. They then kept the pedal to the metal in last weekend’s semifinal with a 97-12 win over the Brock Badgers. All-star Emmanuela Jada (Guelph, Ont.) led the way for the Gryphons in that one, scoring three tries in the game, with a trio of fellow Guelph players notching two.
It came as no surprise to see Alexandra Everett (Brockville, Ont.) among the multi-try scorers last weekend, as she has been an offensive juggernaut all season. The fourth-year centre led the OUA with 11 tries on the year, ranking second in scoring, and will be one to watch in the team’s final match on the conference schedule. Everett will see support from the aforementioned Jada, who boasts strong offensive and defensive capabilities thanks in large part to her incredible speed, as well as a host of fellow all-stars on her side, including Julia Schell (Uxbridge, Ont.) and Madison Brattan (Guelph, Ont.).
With talent up and down the rosters, a familiarity with their championship foes, and bragging rights on the line, Saturday’s OUA finale at Guelph’s Varsity Field (1:00pm) will be one to watch. For fans who can’t make it out to the match, all the action can be seen live on oua.tv, or on the app available for download on Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku.
