Wolves rugby 7s start season strong

RICHMOND – The West Carleton Secondary School (WCSS) Wolves girls have started the season off strong.

The WCSS girls’ rugby 7s team had their first tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at Twin Elms Rugby Park. The girls won the first games against Sacred Hearts Secondary School 15-0. The second game against Paul-Desmarais E. Secondary School was also a victory with a score of 22-5. The Wolves played St. Peters High School and tied 20-20. In the Wolves’ final game they played their hearts out but unfortunately lost to Glebe Collegiate Institute 31-10. 

For all the girls, this was their first time playing rugby 7s, and they were eager to show off all they have worked on in the past weeks of practice. The girls did not disappoint with their noticeable talent and hard work which led them to the top of tier two. 

The girls really stood out with their fierce tackling abilities. The defense did not let anyone run past them without a challenge. Strong scrums made it quite tricky for the opposing team to secure the ball. Finally, the skill that perfectly rounded off their intimidating attack were their wingers. The Wolves wingers were great at running up the ball and blowing past opposing players to get a try. 

When talking to the girls about their tournament they each varied on how they felt they did.

Wolves winger Riley Fournier really holds the team to high standards and thought the team could have done better.

“We need to focus more on being a team and we need to connect with each other better,” Fournier said. “No one was doing the plays that we had practiced during practice.” 

Fournier was not the only one who thought some of what the team worked on in practice was not being properly executed.

Wolves fly-half Julia Derouin also feels like the team “could have applied our practices a little more.”  

Many of the Wolves Rugby Sevens team also play on the rugby 15s team as well. For many on the sevens squad, it was their first time playing the more wide-open version of the game. Many seemed to enjoy the sevens more.

“As a fly half I enjoy having a team of backs behind me for support rather than having just three players,” Elena Macdonald said. 

The team is now resting up and practicing in preparation for their next tournament at the end of the month. The girls do feel more confident in their abilities since this tournament, they do understand what they have to work on and are ready to put the effort in to win the final tournament.