Tommies women’s rugby back for inaugural season after early exit last year

STU women’s rugby returns this year with a mix of new and veteran players. (Credit: STU Athletics)

St. Thomas University women’s rugby is back after forfeiting their season last year.

On Friday, Sept. 13, the Tommies came in second during their first tournament of the season at Graves-Oakley Memorial Park in Halifax. 

They defeated University of King’s College (UKC) and Dalhousie University, while the University of New Brunswick Saint John defeated them and took first place.

Last year, due to multiple season-ending injuries, the group was unable to fill an entire roster for two games, leaving them disqualified under the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) rules.

When asked how it felt to have had the season cut short, fourth-year forward Madi Walsh said she was bitter about it.

“It was really unfortunate for us, but it let us have more motivation for the coming year and this year we're pretty strong,” she said.

Gabriel Kim, head coach of the rugby team, agreed with Walsh.

“It was frustrating. It's the first time that we were not able to see a season through to the end. But I think a lot of it was kind of outside of my control and the girls' control,” he said.

Starting this year, the rugby team transitioned into a 7s team instead of a 15s. This means that they will now play with seven players on the pitch in seven-minute halves, instead of 15 players in 40-minute halves.

“I'm happier doing a 7s program that we can do well, than trying to salvage a 15s program that will consistently try and struggle with the size of the roster,” said Kim.

In 7s, games are played in tournaments, where you play against multiple teams in one day. Then, you get a ranking that will determine who won the tournament.

Other ACAA clubs, such as UKC and Dalhousie, also switched from 15s to 7s due to the lack of players.

Second-year back player Sharly Larose found the change to 7s somewhat challenging to adjust to before finding her footing.

“Since I had never played 7s before, it was a big difference. The game is much faster, so during the offseason, I worked on strengthening and weight lifting, trying to get stronger and running to try and get faster," she said.

Likewise, Kim thinks that the team’s lack of experience in 7s could be a weakness this year.

He thinks that the game is very “instinctual” and that the team they currently have is coded for 15s.

“We're trying to build that [instinct] in and really try and have the athletes develop their own agency, make their own decisions,” he said.

Despite their difficulties, Walsh said the group is transitioning very well.

As one of the team leaders, she tries to keep a “high-motivation” environment.

“I just try to stay super talkative and competitive, just so we better ourselves and the team,” she said.

Walsh and Kim said that their team’s goals for the season are to stay competitive, as opposed to last year, when they struggled to find the determination to keep competing.

Walsh hopes to win their next two tournaments, make the playoffs and “just have a good all-around energy for our team.”