The Concordia Stingers won a classic defensive battle 13-8 over the Laval Rouge et Or to claim the Quebec university women’s rugby championship before a crowd of 500 fans at Concordia stadium in Montreal on Friday night.
It is the second straight Quebec title for Concordia. It is the team’s third championship in four years.
“It was a great defensive battle with both teams knocking the stuffing out of each other,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie. “It was a typical Concordia-Laval battle.”
There was no scoring in the first half, and McGravie used the lack of scoring to motivate his team at halftime.
“We played really, really well,” he said. “But in the first half we had four or five missed chances. We talked about it during the break and how we were going to rue it.”
The Rouge et Or opened the scoring on a try from Claudine Renaud at the 50-minute mark. Concordia’s Hughanna Gaw even the score eight minutes later.
Stinger Jackie Tittley connected on a penalty goal at the 65-minute mark, and the Rouge et Or replied with a penalty goal from Charlotte Vallieres-Villeneuve.
Concordia took the lead for good when Cara Stuckey scored a try with five minutes left on the clock to make the final score 13-8.
“In the end, we just executed better than they did,” McGravie said.
The Stingers advance to the CIS national championship hosted by Trent University in Peterborough, Ont. Nov. 4-7.
