Women’s Rugby
Concordia’s Rajotte headlines U SPORTS women’s rugby major award winners
Five straight years.
That’s how many times the Concordia Stingers had defeated the Laval Rouge et Or in the RSEQ playoffs, denying them a spot at the U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship. Some of the team’s veterans had experienced four consecutive years of heartbreak.
Three of the seniors, in particular, had decided to move on from the program to complete their schooling in four years. But with the announcement of a new coach and the decision to push for one last chance to reach the national tournament, all three made a return that would pay them back.
“In February, when we first heard about Kévin (Rouet) being the new head coach, my decision was made,” says fifth-year Frédérique Ferland. “After talking to Kévin about coming back for my fifth year, I quickly knew that he had the same goal as me: go to the national championship in (Lethbridge) Alberta. I then decided to come back filled with the biggest desire to win I’ve ever have.”
Alongside some discussion among her four other teammates in the same position, it became an idea; a desire, to give it one last shot. Now, with the team having earned their ticket to the U SPORTS Championship in Lethbridge beginning Thursday, they have accomplished something that once seemed so out of reach.
After talking to Kevin about coming back for my fifth year, I quickly knew that he had the same goal as me: go to the national championship in (Lethbridge) Alberta. I then decided to come back filled with the biggest desire to win I’ve ever have.
Frédérique Ferland
Rouet had brought something special this year. Although it was only his first year in the program, he also coaches many of the players throughout the summer in club rugby.
“As soon as he arrived as head coach last winter, Kévin had a big impact on the team. Everybody's level of investment on and off the field just really increased,” says Ferland. “We were able to build on the foundation we had already established in the summertime. This further helped us evolve throughout the season.”
Ferland and fellow fifth-year Maude Laliberté, and Marie Thibault have extensive experience playing for Rouet - Laliberté for six years, Ferland and Thibault for four under the Quebec club champion The Civil Club (Club de Rugby de Quebec). With all that experience working and growing the young women into talented players, Rouet acknowledges the special characteristics each woman brings to the pitch.
“Maude is a mobile prop. She plays like a back,” he says. “She is the girl who finishes with the most passes at the end of each game. She’s a complete rugby player. Marie is one of my best defenders. She’ll put her body on the line to stop opponents and this year she manages well in the offence because she is one my best try scorers and an extremely hard-worker. Fréd is an instinct player. She is able to think outside the box and that’s why she is so unpredictable.”
As some of the most dedicated and hardworking players the program will have seen, it is the team culture off the pitch that Ferland will miss the most.
Being part of this team is a privilege and I will forever be grateful for it. Also, I will miss the friendships developed during the past years, considering we will all take different paths. The Rouge et Or is a big family that I am proud to be part of.
Ferland
Aside from the friendships she had made, the spirit of the rugby culture is something that she will also dearly miss.
“I played soccer for many years and it’s nothing compared to the team spirit you get from the rugby community,” adds Ferland. “As a rugby player, you have to be ready to protect your teammates and sacrifice yourself for it. In rugby, if the team spirit is mediocre, the desired outcomes will probably not be achieved. Rugby is like being a part of a big family.”
Asked to choose one moment that she’ll take away from her Rouge et Or years, Ferland without a doubt recalls defeating Concordia in the RSEQ semfinal to advance to the national tournament. The game came down to the physicality and sheer tactics that Laval implemented that made them the better team that day.
“Physically and tactically we were better,” she says. “During the week before, we talked about being ready for every scenario and not to panic and to be confident in our play and in our teammates. I wasn’t there the last five years, but this historic game against Concordia was still in their heads during the entirety of the season and through that game as well.”
My goal is to build a strong program. I want to be the two best teams in RSEQ and be the RSEQ champion in the next two to three years. We have a lot of new talent who has arrived and I’m pretty confident.
Rouet
With their first game of the U SPORTS Championship on Thursday night against Guelph, the focus shifts to capturing the national gold medal. But whatever happens at the end of this journey, the vets can leave knowing they created something special. That they had left this program better then when they started. For Coach Rouet, their influence and this season’s success has promise for the next generation of Rouge et Or players.
“My goal is to build a strong program,” says Rouet. “I want to be the two best teams in RSEQ and be the RSEQ champion in the next two to three years. We have a lot of new talent who has arrived and I’m pretty confident.
Tash is a third-year sport media student at Ryerson University. She’s played volleyball since 11 years old and has stayed involved in the game both as a certified Level 1 referee with the Ontario Volleyball Association and as the colour commentator for the Ryerson Rams men’s and women’s volleyball teams. Having the opportunity to travel to Japan for rugby in 2014, she is eager to continue to broaden her writing horizons in these two sports.