The Gaels women’s rugby team put the finishing touches on a stellar season against a familiar opponent.
On Nov. 2, Queen’s took home bronze at the U Sports Women’s Rugby Championship in Vancouver, B.C., defeating the Guelph Gryphons 28-26 in the 3rd-place match. The win set a U Sports record, as Queen’s earned its sixth medal in a row, more than any team in Canada.
The Gaels came out of the gates of the tournament swinging, winning their first game by a score of 90-10 against the Acadia University Axewomen thanks to a shaky but overpowering performance by Queen’s.
In the semifinals, Queen’s faced off against the hosts—the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Gaels came agonizingly close to the win, continuously pushing the Thunderbirds to score the winning try, but were held off by the host’s defence. Instead, the Gaels fell 20-14, and the Thunderbirds went on to win in the finals.
“Our ask going in was simple: be here now and focus on the next job,” Valley said in an interview with The Journal. “We let [the Thunderbirds] off the hook early, but I thought we came out in the second half and got back to our style of play.”
It was a tough pill to swallow, but Valley was appreciative of his team’s effort and the opportunities they unlocked for themselves. “If you’d offered me before the game that we were going to be 69 minutes in, have possession 30 metres out from their try line, and it’s on us to score and win the game, I’d take that every time,” he said.
“I’m going to back us to get that job done way more often than not. If I’m honest with you, I thought we had it until we didn’t.”
In the bronze-medal game, the Gaels found their rivals—the Guelph Gryphons, who they beat on Oct. 25 for the OUA title. Despite the bitter taste from the semifinal loss, the team’s seniors had one more game to lay it all on the line.
“Every graduating player started that match by design,” Valley explained. “It was the last ride for that group, and we wanted them to set the tone before passing the torch to the next generation. The finishers’ job was to help that torch burn so bright you could see it in Kingston.”
When the semifinal matchup started, it was clear that Guelph wanted revenge for their OUA loss, taking an early lead. Queen’s responded immediately, when Mya Brubacher, ArtSci ’26, capped off a tenacious effort from the Gaels at the try line, and Lizzie Gibson, M.PL. ’26, nailed the conversion for a 7-5 lead.
Tausani Levale scored her second try of the game for Guelph to give her Gryphons the lead, but, once again, Queen’s was quick to respond. Just over 20 minutes into the match, Tattyannah Jackson, ArtSci ’26, crushed Guelph’s defence on the try line to regain the lead, with the help of another successful conversion from Gibson.
Queen’s took a 14-12 lead into half-time, but the break didn’t slow them down. 45 minutes into the game, Kennedi Stevenson, ArtSci ’28, stormed through the left side for a try, followed by another conversion from Gibson. Guelph remained resilient, responding with a try thanks to a strong effort along the try line. However, a barrelling effort from Stephanie Douglas, ArtSci ’28, through the Guelph try-line defence was just what Queen’s needed.
Guelph would continue to push, scoring a try to cut the Queen’s lead to just 28-26, but it wouldn’t be enough. An intense defensive effort from Olivia Dibua, ArtSci ’27, earned her Player of the Match honours, and the Gaels held Guelph off to take the victory.
Valley praised Dibua and also highlighted a critical clutch moment when first-year Drew Spencer, ConEd ’30, made a one-on-one tackle on 2024 OUA Player of the Year Addy Holmes that helped seal the win.
During the tournament, U Sports announced its awards and honours, with Gibson, Maxie Grant, ArtSci ’26, and Jiggy Schonfeld, Kin ’27, getting nods as First Team All-Canadians. Stevenson was also honoured, earning a place as a Second Team All-Canadian. Additionally, Gibson, Jackson, and Madison Jumeau, MSc ’26, were honoured as U Sports Championship All-Stars for their performances at the tournament.
Bronze isn’t the hardware Valley and his team wanted, but he still remains extremely proud of his team.
“The margins are thin at this level,” he said. “Sometimes you’re on the right side, sometimes you’re not. But to keep putting ourselves in that echelon year after year says everything about this group.”
Tags
Dan Valley, Kennedi Stevenson, Lizzie Gibson, Tattyannah Jackson, U Sports Championship, Women's rugby
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