RUGBY 7s: Vikes brave the snow to win Abbotsford tourney

RUGBY 7s: Vikes brave the snow to win Abbotsford tourney
Posted: Feb 03, 2019

Dan Kinvig, UFV Athletics

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – After an uncharacteristic stumble at the opening event of the 2019 Canada West Women’s Sevens Series, the Victoria Vikes got back on track, going undefeated en route to the title at Tournament No. 2 hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley.

The Vikes went a perfect 6-0, wrapping up their victorious run with wins over Lethbridge (22-10), Calgary (28-0) and UBC Okanagan (24-7) on Sunday at Exhibition Park.

The performance marked a return to form for the defending CW Sevens Series champs, who had finished third at the 2019 curtain-raising tourney in Edmonton two weeks ago.

“For us at the first tournament, it really came down to consistency,” Vikes coach Brittany Waters said. “We had some great moments; we also had some not-so-great moments. So for us, having a really consistent performance throughout the whole tournament was one of our focuses.

“We worked a lot on our defensive systems in the weeks between, and that’s what really set the tone for this tournament. We got possession, we had ball in hand, and we ended up with some really great things on attack. But it started with our team defence.”

Along with Victoria’s dominance, the weather was a significant storyline on Sunday. After relatively mild temperatures and periodic sun on Saturday, Day 2 featured a rare snowfall in Abbotsford with gusting wind. Temperatures were in the neighbourhood of -5 C, with wind chill to -15 C.

“Credit to all the girls who are out here playing today,” Waters marveled. “Not the greatest conditions, but no complaints – everyone’s playing great rugby, and I’m really impressed by everyone.”

The UBC Thunderbirds, coming off a tourney win in Edmonton, locked up second place in Abbotsford in dramatic fashion, edging the Lethbridge Pronghorns 15-10 on Delaney Aikens’s try just before the final whistle. The result enabled the T-Birds to hold onto first place in the overall standings with 27 points, just ahead of UVic (25).

The Pronghorns and Calgary Dinos finished with matching 3-2-1 records, but Lethbridge finished third based on point differential. The Alberta Pandas (2-4-0), host UFV Cascades (1-5-0) and UBC Okanagan Heat (0-6-0) finished fifth through seventh, respectively.

The Canada West Women’s Rugby Sevens Series concludes with Tournament No. 3, March 2-3 at UBC.

 

ROUND 5

Game 13: Victoria Vikes 22, Lethbridge Pronghorns 10

Scoring summary:

VIC: 12-10: 22

LET: 5-5: 10

  • LET try – #2 Carolyn McKee (convert missed) – 5-0
  • VIC try – #14 McKenzie Pusch (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 7-5
  • VIC try – #3 Chanelle Edwards-Challenger (convert missed) – 12-5
    • HALF
  • VIC try - #14 McKenzie Pusch (convert missed) – 17-5
  • LET try – #7 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 17-10
  • VIC try – #5 Ashah Payson (convert missed) – 22-10

 

Game 14: Alberta Pandas 27, UBC Okanagan Heat 12

Scoring summary:

ALB: 17-10: 27

UBCO: 0-12: 12

  • ALB try – #10 Heidi Farley (#11 Cara Park convert) – 7-0
  • ALB try – #6 Alexandra Martin (convert missed) – 12-0
  • ALB try – #24 Emily Brown (convert missed) – 17-0
    • HALF
  • UBCO try – #4 Emma Johnson (#9 Jordanne Sulz convert) – 17-7
  • ALB try – #21 Zoe Melnychuk (convert missed) – 22-7
  • ALB try – #14 Lora Lee (convert missed) – 27-7
  • UBCO try – #14 Maria Ritchie (convert missed) – 27-12

 

Game 15: UBC Thunderbirds 15, Calgary Dinos 7

Scoring summary:

UBC: 10-5: 15

CGY: 7-0: 7

  • UBC try – #7 Kally King (convert missed) – 5-0
  • CGY try – #12 Emma Newton (#15 Elysa Sandron convert) – 7-5
  • UBC try – #4 Delaney Aikens (convert missed) – 10-7
    • HALF
  • UBC try – #7 Kally King (convert missed) – 15-7

 

ROUND 6

Game 16: Lethbridge Pronghorns 19, Alberta Pandas 0

Scoring summary:

LET: 12-7: 19

ALB: 0-0: 0

  • LET try – #3 Abigail Duguid (convert missed) – 5-0
  • LET try – #2 Carolyn McKee (#5 Caitlyn Sears convert) – 12-0
    • HALF
  • LET try – #6 Genna Wright (#5 Caitlin Sears convert) – 19-0

 

Game 17: Victoria Vikes 28, Calgary Dinos 0

Scoring summary:

VIC: 14-14: 28

CGY: 0-0: 0

  • VIC try – #11 Nicola Smith (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 7-0
  • VIC try – #10 Paige Farries (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 14-0
    • HALF
  • VIC try – #10 Paige Farries (#4 Brooke Bazian convert) – 21-0
  • VIC try – #9 Linnea Dalvi (#15 Alexie Pusch convert) – 28-0

 

Game 18: UBC Thunderbirds 50, UFV Cascades 0

Scoring summary:

UBC: 24-26: 50

UFV: 0-0: 0

  • UBC try – #6 Kaitlyn Cumming (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert) – 7-0
  • UBC try – #9 Vivianna Johnson (convert missed) – 12-0
  • UBC try – #9 Vivianna Johnson (convert missed) – 17-0
  • UBC try – #11 Madison Blusson (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert) – 24-0
    • HALF
  • UBC try – #9 Vivianna Johnson (#1 Rori Wood convert) – 31-0
  • UBC try – #10 Kendra Roberts (#1 Rori Wood convert) – 38-0
  • UBC try – #11 Madison Blusson (convert missed) – 43-0
  • UBC try – #1 Rori Wood (#1 Rori Wood convert) – 50-0

 

ROUND 7

Game 19: Victoria Vikes 24, UBC Okanagan Heat 7

Scoring summary:

VIC: 12-12: 24

UBCO: 0-7: 7

  • VIC try – #9 Linnea Dalvi (#15 Alexie Pusch convert) – 7-0
  • VIC try – #9 Linnea Dalvi (convert missed) – 12-0
    • HALF
  • VIC try – #15 Alexie Pusch (#15 Alexie Pusch) – 19-0
  • VIC try – #12 Maddy Aberg (convert missed) – 24-0
  • UBCO try – #4 Emma Johnson (#13 Katie Baker) – 24-7

 

Game 20: Calgary Dinos 45, UFV Cascades 0

Scoring summary:

CGY: 24-21: 45

UFV: 0-0: 0

  • CGY try – #6 Grace Campbell (#15 Elysa Sandron convert) – 7-0
  • CGY try – #12 Emma Newton (convert missed) – 12-0
  • CGY try – #15 Elysa Sandron (convert missed) – 17-0
  • CGY try – #7 Alisa Illichova (#22 Berlyn Seselja) – 24-0
    • HALF
  • CGY try – #11 Kate Knight (#22 Berlyn Seselja) – 31-0
  • CGY try – #12 Emma Newton (#22 Berlyn Seselja) – 38-0
  • CGY try – #6 Grace Campbell (#22 Berlyn Seselja) – 45-0

 

Game 21: UBC Thunderbirds 15, Lethbridge Pronghorns 10

Scoring summary:

UBC: 10-5: 15

LET: 5-5: 10

  • UBC try – #7 Kally King (convert missed) – 5-0
  • LET try – #7 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 5-5
  • UBC try – #7 Kally King (convert missed) – 10-5
    • HALF
  • LET try – #1 Sara Cline (convert missed) – 10-10
  • UBC try – #4 Delaney Aikens (convert missed) – 15-10

 

Tournament standings

TEAM   WINS    LOSSES TIES      POINTS

VIC       6          0          0          24

UBC      5          1          0          21

LET       3          2          1          16

CGY      3          2          1          16

ALB      2          4          0          12

UFV      1          5          0          9

UBCO   0          6          0          6

NOTE: Teams are awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss.

 

Overall series standings

Team / Tourney 1 pts / Tourney 2 pts / Total pts

UBC – 15 / 12 / 27 pts

VIC – 10 / 15 / 25 pts

LET – 12 / 10 / 22 pts

CGY – 8 / 8 / 16 pts

ALB – 6 / 6 / 12 pts

UFV – 4 / 4 / 8 pts

UBCO – NA / 2 / 2 pts

REG – 2 / NA / 2 pts

TRU – 1 / NA / 1 pt

 

About the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series

2019 marks the third season of the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series, which has been made possible thanks to Canada West's partnership with B2ten and Rugby Canada.

Through their joint support, B2ten and Rugby Canada are committed to helping Canadian female athletes pursue their athletic careers, including an opportunity to progress to the national team.

The Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series champion will be crowned February 25 at the University of Victoria, as determined by cumulative series points. 

2019 Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series tournament dates: University of Alberta (Jan. 19/20), University of the Fraser Valley (Feb. 2/3) and the University of British Columbia (March 2/3).