The Pursuit Part 2: Making History

Hi My UVic World!

I apologize for being MIA the past month or so. I’ve been completely caught up and swept away by rugby and the ensuing catch-up game I have been playing since coming down off the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) rugby high. It’s been an amazing whirlwind of a few weeks and I’m not really sure where to start.

…I guess where I left off would be the logical place.

We ended the regular season with a loss to the University of Alberta 38-24; but with spirits high and ready to bring it to the field the next time we took them on a few days later in Edmonton from October 23-25 as we qualified for Canada West ranked 3rd.

A quick four day turn-around had us in Edmonton on the Friday ready to battle Alberta for a spot in the National Championship. This year was the first year two teams from Canada West got to go as the tournament bracket expanded to allow eight teams to compete rather than just six with women’s rugby becoming a hugely competitive sport. An incredibly tough game, where we had to fight to the very end with two players down; we squeaked out the win to qualify for Nationals AND the Canada West Final 26-20 over Alberta.

A true honour! More info: http://www.govikesgo.com/news/2015/10/25/WRUG_1025151218.aspx

The final game was played two days later against Lethbridge, a team we had beaten earlier in the year but can’t be taken lightly on any day, having won six straight Canada West titles between 2006-2011.

We came out full strength and produced the best team performance we’ve had all year, winning the final for the FIRST TIME EVER in school history for women’s rugby! With a final score of 50-17. It was incredible and I don’t think any words will ever describe it.

The closest I can get to it is the quote I put in my last post. 

“Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.”

These games certainly were no easy feat – we had a lot to prove and nothing to lose.

We only go up from here.

BUT… don’t despair! With the help of some nifty teammates (Sya, Gurpreet, Julia) and their wonderful filming, I have been able to put together a video of what it was like to be a member of your UVic Women’s Rugby Team during that historic weekend.

For the next post, when I’m feeling less exhausted and more introspective -I’ll give a little insight into the National Championships that were hosted by Queens in Kingston, Ontario and where the season goes from here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElBDLCJBhOc&feature=youtu.be