Photo by Marc Lafleur
OTTAWA – In front of another strong crowd of supporters Carleton’s women’s rugby team moved their record to 2-1 on Saturday afternoon while rewriting their record books. Beating the McGill Martlets 90-5 the Ravens establish a new single-game record for points scored and as well as establishing a new record for largest margin of victory.
Looking to get off to a strong start, the Ravens would strike early when Vanessa Chiappetta (Rigaud, Que.) opened the scoring capping off a solid team run that featured some talented ball handling. The Ravens controlled much of the pace throughout the game through strong support, offloading well and establishing themselves as a force in the rucks.
Despite controlling much of the pace, it was a number of big runs that stood out early in the match-up for the Ravens. As the first half went on, Chiappetta would break free at midfield outrunning the Martlets for her second try of the afternoon in only the first ten minutes of the game. The Ravens would round out the first half adding five more tries including a beautiful piece of running from Delishia Dixon (Ottawa, Ont.) who finished a series of great passing by exploding into open field for the score.
With four conversions in the first half from Belleville’s Roberta Drummond, the Ravens went into the break with a 43-0 lead.
Facing McGill for the second time in two weeks, head coach David Luong wanted to focus on the little things this time around.
When asked about what the focus was coming into the game he emphasized his teams need to play to their strengths. “For us it was playing a bit more disciplined, trying to attack with a bit of pace and using all our skills.”
For the Ravens, the second half was a perfect example of a team sticking to their game plan. Three tries in the first ten minutes of the second half helped the Ravens continue their torrid pace after the break. Swift ball movement and a scrum that overpowered the Martlets allowed the Ravens to play to their strengths even as they rotated in all players dressed for the afternoon’s contest.
Despite great contribution from the bench, including a 75th minute try from Brianna Messer (Pembroke, Ont.), it was a try in stoppage time by Katie Cox that would put this game into the record books. The late try and subsequent conversion by the Falls River, N.S. fly-half would give the Ravens a 90-5 victory.
The 85-point victory is the most in a single game by the Ravens, as is the 90 points scored. Having successfully completed 8 conversion attempts in the match Ravens co-captain Roberta Drummond also enters the record book tying current assistant coach Jessica Joubarne for most conversions in a single game.
Looking ahead the Ravens have another pivotal RSEQ match-up at home next weekend as they host the Bishop’s Gaiters on Raven Field. Looking to build on the moment they have established the past two weeks, coach Luong believes his team is ready to put in the work ahead of next week’s all-important match-up.
“Next week is definitely a very important game,” he said, adding that while pleased, the team is not satisfied. “We’re happy with what we did today, and the players can celebrate and relax tomorrow, but come Monday we’re back to work.”
