Backed by a crowd of cheering fans and determined to prove that last week’s loss to Brock was just a blip on the radar, the men’s rugby team beat the University of Western Ontario 16-13. Saturday’s game was a heated one; Queen’s hadn’t beaten Western since the 2001 OUA final.
The rivalry was further amplified by the fact that some players on both teams are good friends and even played with each other before university.
Queen’s captain James Potter said he expected an intense match-up.
“It was such a grudge match and bound to be a messy game,” he said.
The first half was a see-saw affair: both teams’ back lines had great runs down the field only to be stopped by stalled rucks or being knocked out of bounds.
Both teams struggled to keep their hands on the ball as the first half was filled with midfield turnovers. Lost line outs and scrums kept the Gaels on their heels as possession was constantly Western’s before the Gaels settled down.
The teams traded penalty conversion kicks, scoring two each to tie the game 6-6.
Potter scored the Gaels’ only try by running the ball from a set line-out play, outworking Mustangs player and former high school teammate Zach Wittenberg and gently placing the ball right between the goal posts. An added conversion made it 13-6 to end the half.
After converting a penalty kick in the second half to lead 16-6, Queen’s conceded a try within the last 10 minutes of the game.
Penalties and emotion ran high with yellow cards filling the score sheet.
Two fights broke out on the field during the match and three yellow cards were assessed, suspending players from the game for 10 minutes. The game ended with 14 Mustangs on the field against 13 Gaels, less than the usual complement of 15 players per side.
Queen’s head coach Peter Huigenbos said the game was well-officiated.
“Such a huge rivalry creates some very intense situations, but, the referee handled it very well,” he said.
Braving the cold and wind, more than 1,000 Queen’s fans at Kingston Field definitely added a dimension to the match, mercilessly taunting Western players and cheering loudly whenever Queen’s regained possession.
Gaels’ prop Colin Frenke said the crowd sounded as though they were over a million strong. Frenke jokingly asked, “Did anyone even go to the football game?” The men will close out the regular season next week at RMC, before beginning the playoffs and vying for the OUA Championship.
The women’s team fell to the Guelph Gryphons 36-0 in the OUA quarterfinals at Guelph University Oct. 13, ending the Gaels’ season. They finished the season 3-2, which left them with the daunting challenge of facing last year’s OUA champions, the Guelph Gryphons, in the first game of the playoffs.
The match was scheduled to start at 1 p.m., but Guelph failed to confirm a referee for the match, leaving the Gaels waiting on the field for two and a half hours before the referee arrived from nearby Markham.
When the match finally began, Guelph struck first, scoring five tries before the end of the first half and adding another in the second.
This season saw the women’s rugby team show strong performances as the season began, with wins over the York Lions, the Trent Excalibur and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, but they lost to Guelph and dropped a tight game against Waterloo as the season drew to a close.
Gaels’ head coach Beth Barz said her team will need to work hard in the off-season.
“We’re a very young team, with a lot of first- and second-year players,” she said. “It’s important that we’re dedicated to off-season training. I know it’s difficult, but a commitment to playing summer rugby keeps you ready and in shape for the season.” Scrum-half Lauren Young, one of the Gael’s co-captains, said the year was positive for the team.
“We’re a fairly young team,” she said. “On the field and off the field, we hung out a lot. It was a very fun year.”
With only five players from the team expecting to graduate this year, next year’s team will remain largely intact. Veteran Jennifer Reid, who has played with the Gaels for the last five years, said playing for Queen’s was a good experience.
“I had a great time playing at Queen’s,” she said.
“I’ll definitely miss all the girls I played with and representing Queen’s University. This is definitely a building year for the team. The team cohesion was really strong.”
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