It was a rough weekend for both of Queen’s Rugby teams.
On Sept. 19, both the women’s and men’s teams were in Guelph to take on the Gryphons at Varsity Field for the biggest regular season matchup for each team. Over the last decade, it’s been the Gaels and Gryphons who have dominated OUA rugby, so each team was looking to get the upper hand on Guelph before they presumably meet in the playoffs.
Neither team could do so. The women’s team narrowly lost by a score of 22-19, while the men’s team got clobbered 61-17.
READ MORE: Men’s and women’s Rugby looking to continue their success into the new season
First up on the doubleheader slate was the women’s team at 1 p.m. Early on, Queen’s was unable to do much against the Gryphons defense, with the Gaels falling behind 5-0 when Guelph scored a try at the 19th minute.
In the 25th minute, the Gaels were able to respond with a try of their own, also connecting on a two-point conversion kick to grab a 7-5 lead.
The Gaels couldn’t keep the lead for long though, as the Gryphons responded with a try shortly after to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
Things started poorly for Queen’s in the second half, as they gave up a try and conversion kick at the 51st minute. Guelph also added another try at the 65th minute to take a commanding 22-7 lead.
To the Gaels credit, they put up a fight for the remainder of the game. They scored a try at the 69th minute and a conversion kick to cut the lead to 22-14. Then, at the 74th minute, they added another try to cut the Gryphons lead to just three.
However, there just wasn’t enough time to complete the comeback, and the team would ultimately end up losing to Guelph by a final score of 22-19.
The loss ends a dominant winning streak for the Women’s Rugby team. They’ve gone undefeated for the past six regular seasons, with their last regular season loss having taken place over seven years ago on Sept. 8, 2018, against the Gryphons by a score of 39-34.
The loss moves the women’s team to 2-1 on the season. Their next game is on Sept. 26 against the McMaster Marauders at Nixon Field. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.
The men’s team, who played right after the women’s game had concluded, had even less fun playing Guelph on the weekend.
The Gaels gave up a try within the first minute and had no answer for the Gryphons’ relentless offense and shutdown defense. By the end of the first half, Guelph had a commanding 33-0 lead over Queen’s.
The Gryphons kept up the pressure in the second half, their biggest lead at one point being 47-0, before the Gaels finally got on the board with a try in the 65th minute.
The team fared a bit better towards the end once Guelph subbed out a majority of their starters but still ended up with a 61-17 defeat.
The loss gives the Men’s Rugby team a 1-1 record on the season. They’ll look to rebound this upcoming weekend on Sept. 26 when they face the Western Mustangs at Nixon Field at 2 p.m.
Tags
Guelph Gryphons, Men's rugby, OUA, Women's rugby
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