MacDowellRugby Academy makes its mark as first ever Senior Girls Squad competes at Westshore 7s

Over the spring break, MacDowellRugby Academy entered its first ever women’s side into the WestShore 7’s tournament. The members of the team featured girls from MacDowellRugby’s programs in both the prairies and the island academy. Leading the team throughout the day were co-captains Tatiana Rowe (Grade 11) and Ava Ference (Grade 11).

The girls started off the day with a close game against Claremont; however, won the game in the final minutes of play with a score of 12-7. MVP of the game was awarded to Jenna Nielsen who made some great defensive plays to help secure the first win of the day.

In the second game, the girls faced Royal Bay Ravens where they took charge of the game early. Thanks to our strong impact players, the team continued to turn things up in the second half with Charlotte Aeichele, Kirianne Healey, Addison Finlay, Neveah Capolt-Blanc and Emma Turner making their debuts and helping to secure a 29-5 win. Bella Anderton-Teasdale took MVP for this game with her hard running lines, and putting up a number of tries for the team.

For their third game of the day, the girls played Vanier. Although it was a slow start, the girls ramped things up moving into the second half and secured their place in the finals with a score of 26-0. MVP was awarded to team captain Ava Ference for her display of world-class kicking skills throughout the game.

The girls faced their hardest match of the day as they took on a strong Mark Isfeld side in the Senior Girls finals. With a strong effort from all players in both halves, the girls fell to their north-island opponents. Despite the loss, the girls displayed a tremendous amount of character and grit as they fought until the very last whistle. MVP for the last game went to Lenie Smith for her strong performance, both offensively and defensively.

All-stars for the tournament went to T-Birds local Charlotte Aeichele for her standout defensive efforts, and to Izzy Tchir for her physicality throughout the tournament. The tournament also served as preparation for a number of MacDowellRugby Academy players who attended the Premier 7’s trial in Langford on Sunday. A total of eight MacDowellRugby athletes (both female and male) attended the trial, running and playing alongside some of the top players in Canada.

Congratulations to all athletes who competed this weekend — we look forward to getting these players back together again as we prepare for our next stop - LA 7’s, August 26th/27th.