The St. Thomas University women’s rugby team is gearing up for their playoff push this upcoming weekend, after an upward trend in their offensive numbers this season.
On Oct. 10, the Tommies beat the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Rams 91-10, marking their first win of the season after a tight matchup against the University of New Brunswick REDS the week prior. They lost 29-15 to the REDS on Oct. 5, compared to the score of 66-10 in their final matchup against UNB last season.
Third-year Rachel Macdonald tried out for the team in her first year and has been a dedicated Tommie ever since.
She said the coaching staff have drastically changed the formations on field.
“We’ve greatly improved our ability to gain more field and score.”
Macdonald attributes the step up in the team’s game to support, as they are making efforts to create relationships after noticing a lack of support in previous years.
“This year, we’ve been really working on becoming an actual team outside of just rugby,” she said. “Working on those relationships have made everybody more willing to work for the people who they see as a family.”
The team is also developing their off-season program, with more structure and involvement from coaches instead of workout plans completed individually.
STU will face the Holland College Hurricanes on Nov. 4 in what Macdonald believes will be a tough matchup.
“Going into Holland College will not be an easy game, but I think we honestly have a chance of winning.”
Grace Christie joined the rugby team mid-season after playing on the STU women’s basketball team last year. She sees the commitment from players and coaches to build the program, starting with the work done this season and extending into the off-season development plans.
“They want it to be a super good program and they have a plan to make sure that we can win,” she said.
Apart from the offseason plans, the team has the added advantage of no graduating players this year, meaning this season is a great opportunity for development.
“It’s just been cool because then we have this whole group for the next three years,” said Christie.
The rugby team was “the first team that everyone had come up to me and they all introduced themselves,” she said. “They are all super welcoming.”
She described the experience playing rugby as having a “community feel” and being empowering.
Christie scored her first try of her STU rugby career in their win over the Rams. With the team’s strong offensive game, she had the opportunity to play as a back, where she loved the opportunity to run on the wing.
“Scoring a first try I think is very epic.”
Looking ahead to playoffs, the win against the Rams was a reminder that the team is capable of winning, said Christie.
“It’s hard if you’re losing every game,” she said.
“It was good to remind us all that we can win and we are capable if we actually run the system.”
