A Season to Remember: StFX Women’s Rugby
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Photo: Bryan Kennedy
StFX is known for its outstanding varsity sports teams, even with a student population of only 5,360. One team sticks out from the rest for being one of the most accomplished and hard working, and that is the women’s rugby team. To no one's surprise, the StFX women's rugby team has finished yet another amazing season! They finished first place in the AUS division, with a record of 6-0 in the regular season. This is the 21st conference title in the history of the StFX women's rugby team, after another year lead by veteran coach Mike Cavanagh.
Throughout the 2019 season the X-Women had some outstanding accomplishments. They went undefeated, blowing away the competition with the closest game being 46-29 against Acadia. Playing away or playing at home, the team performed extraordinarily at every game, demonstrating their ability and motivation to win.
This year, StFX celebrated 50 years of women's sports. In a historic move, for the first time in 65 years, football was not the center of attention during Homecoming. Instead, the spotlight was on the women's rugby team as they battled their greatest rivals: the Acadia Axewomen. This is one of the greatest achievements in the history of women's rugby at StFX.
“For us to be granted that honour and privilege of that prime-time Saturday slot, it’s honestly just really exciting”
Anna Horner, the co-captain of the women's rugby team, told CBC News that "we've been here, some of us, for four years and we've always watched football on Saturday afternoon. So for us to be granted that honour and privilege of that prime-time Saturday slot, it's honestly just really exciting."
With a stunning crowd of over 1,700 people, comprised of alumni, students, faculty, and visitors, the X-Women did not disappoint. They took no mercy, beating Acadia (placed second in the AUS) with a score of 57-12. This outstanding performance demonstrates the grit and tenacity that the team possesses.
The X-Women also secured a playoff spot early on in the season. Their first play-off match was the quarterfinals on October 30, 2019, where they played the Guelph Gryphons, big rivals after last year's championship match. Guelph unfortunately managed to bump the X-Women out of the play-offs in the first round. The X-Women were placed in the consolation bracket, and went on to beat UBC in the semifinals, and then to take the win over Acadia in the consolation finals. After the 2019 season the StFX women's rugby team was ranked third in Canada in the U-Sports league.
On November 1, 2019 the rugby team got the opportunity to travel to the United States of America to showcase their talent and compete with some of the top teams in the country. The X-Women played two exhibition games: the first against the NY Village Lions FC, one of the top rugby clubs in New-York City. They went on to win in grand fashion, shutting out the Lions 64-0.
The second game was against Army West Point Knights. The knights are in the NIRA (National Intercollegiate Rugby Association) Tier 1. This is the highest league and division of university women's rugby in the United States. The Knights finished first place in the regular season, undefeated. The X-Women came away with the win over West Point 20-19.
Looking back on the season, the girls are already getting ready for the next. With almost 60% of the team being in either first or second year, the team has a ton of new and young talent that is going to help them succeed in the coming years. The end of the school year will see 9 seniors graduating from both StFX and the team, two of whom being Sam Lake and Anna Horner, who were this year’s co-captains.
Make sure to keep an eye for next year’s StFX women's rugby team, as they look for redemption in reclaiming the U-Sports champions position, and be sure to follow @StFXAthletics on twitter for updates on the latest games and scores.
