Rugby Raiders claim three-peat

Pep talk by coach Bambury helps girls subdue tough Crusaders squad, 26-5

KITCHENER — It was a sloppy first half.

Undefeated Kitchener Collegiate Institute had a slim 7-5 lead on Waterloo-Oxford in the Waterloo County girls’ rugby final.

Raiders coach Amy Bambury gathered her troops for a pep talk at the break and challenged the group to be better.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone wants this,” she said. The message got through. The Raiders scored 19 secondhalf points en route to a 26-5 win over the Crusaders to claim their third consecutive girls’ rugby crown Monday afternoon at KCI.

“It feels amazing,” said cocaptain Ceilidh Drysdale. “We knew what we wanted and we worked hard and that’s what got us here.”

Marlee Allen scored a try and Abbey Struyk booted a conversion off the Raiders’ opening sequence to give the defending champs a 7-0 lead early in the first half. But Waterloo-Oxford responded off a Karli Barr punch-in to keep it close at intermission. That’s when the tone changed. “We realized that this is a team that we have to work hard against,” said Drysdale, 18.

“Maybe we came into it a bit more confident than we should have been. Then, at halftime, we figured out what we needed to do and did it.”

KCI’s passing was crisp. The turnovers lessened. And the Raiders running game turned up a notch. Natalie Armatage, Maddie Hobson and Sarah Vanheyst all trotted in for tries while Struyk kicked a pair of conversions.

The Crusaders defence deserves a nod. They made KCI work for their points but, in the end, looked a tad worn down from all the try line coverage.

Drysdale has been with the team since Grade 9 and says the key to the three-peat is inclusion.

“We just make sure everyone feels equal,” she said.

“We don’t have a scenario where it’s just seniors doing everything. We make sure we’re a team whether you’re on the sidelines cheering or playing. We’re just always together.”

This isn’t the end of the road for either club.

Both move on to the Central Western Ontario regionals beginning Wednesday at Preston High School in Cambridge.

The top two teams in that tournament will move on to the allOntario triple-A finals later this month in Durham Region.

“Rugby is big here right now,” said Bambury. “They love it and play well. It’s nice to see.”

DAVID BEBEE, RECORD STAFF Kitchener Collegiate Institute girls’ senior rugby players reach out and touch the plaque they won as they celebrate their WCSSAA final victory over Waterloo-Oxford at KCI on Monday.