Rugby sevens opens season with two wins at home
By: William Shoukri
Humber Athletics Communications
BRAMPTON - Women's rugby (2-1, 3rd West) got off to a strong start in the 7's tournament on Saturday, going 2-1 against OCAA West. It was an unually hot day at Brampton Rugby Club, with tempurates surpassing 30 degrees. As for the Hawks, they were hot as well. The offence came in bunches, with Meghan Aucoin scoring four tries on the day. Aliza Shahzad would add two of her own.
Game One: Humber 15, Seneca 14
The Hawks started strong in their first match of the day. Facing off against the Seneca Sting, Humber looked to start the day off with a commanding victory.
The Hawks would get the start they wanted, with Meghan Aucoin splitting two defenders to get the ball past the try line. The Hawks would fail to convert on the kick but take a 5-0 lead less than a minute into the match.
The Hawks would do a good job defensively after the try, forcing a Seneca turnover. Humber would take it all the way, and that's to some great passing, Humber would manage to break through the defensive line to double up on its score. Humber would miss the conversion but took their 10-0 lead.
Seneca would start to push back, scoring a try and converting the kick to bring Humber's lead down to 3 right before the end of the first half. After the break, now up 10-7, Humber would take it down the field once more. Showing some fantastic poise and vision, the Hawks would go end-to-end before Meghan Aucoin would score her second try of the game, pushing Humber's lead to 14-7. Another failed conversion attempt would only allow Humber to score five but it was once again a two-possession game.
With time winding down in the second half, Seneca would manage another try with Avery Carruthers scoring her second of the morning. She would nail the conversion to get Seneca within 1 but the Sting would run out of time, dropping their first match to the Hawks.
Humber's passing was absolutely the story in this one, the Hawks played a great possession game and looked like the better squad all match long, earning their 15-14 win.
Game Two: Humber 24, Conestoga 12
It was another hot start for the Hawks in their second match of the game. Some good defensive play forced a turnover on the Conestoga's first drive of the game and Humber would take it all the way back, with Aliza Shahzad making a great run to secure the try. The Hawks would convert on the kick afterwards to take a 7-0 lead less than a minute and a half into the game.
Conestoga would respond minutes later with a try of their own but would be unable to convert the kick for extra points leaving the Hawks nursing a 7-5 lead. Conestoga would score once more before the end of the half and would add an extra two points after converting the kick. After seven minutes Humber would trail 12-7 going into half time.
After the break, Humber bore down and locked in. After possession flipped a couple times, Amy Johnson would get a step on her defender and run the ball more than halfway down the field to score Humber's second try of the game. The Hawks would fail to convert the kick but it was now a tie game, 12-12Just seconds later, Humber would make it down to the try line once again and Aliza Shahzad would score her second try of the game. Another missed conversion attempt would mean Humber only got five points but they were now leading 17-12.
All of a sudden Humber broke the game open, they would go on to score once more on the next drive with Meghan Aucoin running it in to win Humber the game 24-12.
Game Three: Humber 19, Durham 47
Looking to stay undefeated, the Hawks knew that their tallest task of the day was ahead of them, the Durham Lords; the reigning OCAA champs. The Hawks came flying out of the gates, once again scoring in their first rush of the game. It was Meghan Aucoin who secured the try for the Hawks after cutting through her defender to get passed the try line. The Hawks would convert on the ensuing kick, getting off to an early 7-0 lead on the Lords.
The Lords would get the try right back, managing to break through the Hawks defensive line to score. They would fail to convert on the kick so Humber would keep a slim 7-5 lead. Trapped deep in their own zone, Humber would force a turnover and Aliza Shahzad would run the ball all the way from her own end to the try line, scoring her first of the game. The Hawks would convert on the kick and take a 14-10 lead. The Lords would run it back right away for their second try of the match and they would add the extra two, bringing the score to 14-12.
The Lords would recover the ensuing kick and make it to the try line once again for their third of the match. The Lords would convert the kick from an incredibly sharp angle to take a 19-14 lead over the home Hawks. The halftime whistle shortly after and Humber would enter the second half trailing 19-14.
The Hawks came out blazing in the second half. Mary Adarkwa would run it all the way for a dramatic try, somersaulting past the try line . Humber would miss the conversion but the game was now tied 19-19. Unfortunately Durham wasn't done. A fantastic run would give them the lead once again and another conversion would make it 26-19.
Durham would break through once again, scoring a try and completing the conversion to take a 40-19 lead. With Humber trailing big, Durham would add another try and convert. The final whistle would go with Humber falling 47-19 to the strongest women's rugby program in the OCAA.
Humber Highlights
- Aliza Shahzad scored the first tries of her OCAA career.
- 2024 Humber Rugby rookie of the year Meghan Aucoin now has eight career tries; her performance today doubled her career total.
What's Next?
Humber (2-1, 3rd West) will face St. Lawrence and Algonquin on September 21 in Kingston, ON. The games start at 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM respectively and you can catch all the action streamed live on Hawks Sports Netwo
