Although the Algonquin’s women’s rugby team has yet to secure a win this season, they say they remain focused on the rest of the season.
“As a whole, we gained more confidence to drive towards the try line,” said player Celine Roach-Leclaire. “We’re making decisions we know would be good for the whole team.”
After losing their two first games against St.Lawrence (17-30) and Fleming (0-21), the Thunder managed to tie up their game against Loyalist on Oct. 4 (20-20), only to lose to Fleming again on Oct. 9 (0-65).
“This weekend’s game was an improvement on the score board compared to our first two games,” said player Kaitlyn McDevitt on the Seneca game. “But we still have some things to work on.”
Thus far, the team is now sitting at a -99 point differential, meaning they have scored only 37 points while laying up 136.
What could be to blame is the lack of mature players. Thirteen of the 21 players are rookies this season.
Roach-Leclaire says she believes that could be a small part of the problem.
“I don’t think there is one thing to blame,” said Roach-Leclaire. “As a team we just need to exude more confidence in everything we do and we need to communicate and work together to get the results we want.”
Maureen Foran, 18, says she agrees that the team’s communication plays a big role in their results.
“We communicate a lot off the field and if we brought the amount of communication we have with each other from off the field to on the fieldI believe our games would run much smoother,” said Ellis. “Communication is key in a game of rugby.”
Although the season was off to a rocky start, Ellis remains faithful that they will turn things around.
“We are team that never gives up. We are a fighting team,” said Ellis. “We are a strong team and we won’t let our losses determine how the rest of our season is going to look.”