Rugby

The Queen’s Men’s rugby team tied their highest place finish at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship this year, defeating the provincial champions the Guelph Gryphons 38-28, and the dominant Victoria Vikes 26-24 on their way to National silver.

Entering this year as two-time OUA champions, with a streak of four consecutive national podiums, the expectations for the Queen’s Women’s Rugby team were naturally sky-high.

After narrowly failing to reclaim their OUA title against the Guelph Gryphons, the Gaels shifted their focus to the National tournament, determined to end their season on a high note.

In dominating fashion, the Queen’s Men’s Rugby team has punched their ticket to the OUA Championship and secured a berth at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC).

Nixon Field was packed on Oct. 25, with fans of both Queen’s and Guelph filling the stands and lining the sidelines to watch the two OUA juggernauts, the Gaels and Gryphons, face off in their historic rivalry for the OUA Gold.

The Queen’s Men’s Rugby team welcomed the Brock Badgers to Nixon Field on Oct. 26, where a dominant performance on both offense and defence secured the Gaels a spot in the semi-final game on Nov. 2.

Entering the playoffs after another undefeated season for the Women’s Rugby program, the Gaels looked to mount the Western Mustangs during their matchup at Nixon field.

Women’s Rugby just wrapped up their fifth straight season without a regular season loss. Before the advent of the 2024-25 OUA playoffs, Head Coach Dan Valley sat down with The Journal to reflect on what it takes to be a dominant force in the OUA, and how he’s preparing to defend the OUA title.

For several years, Queen’s Rugby programs have been the standard for success in Ontario. The women’s side specifically has been dominating within OUA and National competition, bringing home two provincial titles and one national title in the past three years.

The Gaels’ football and Women’s Rugby teams travelled to London, Ont., in an attempt to spoil the Western Mustangs’ homecoming celebrations.

With both the Men’s and Women’s rugby teams gearing up for the OUA playoffs, their addition of two road wins against divisional juggernauts should help the Gaels gather momentum as they work through the back half of the regular season.

On opposite sides of the province, the Men’s and Women’s Rugby teams received different results when faced with their respective mid-season tests.

After starting their season 2-0 and outscoring opponents 143-9, the Head Coach of the Women’s Rugby team sat down with The Journal to discuss his expectations for the season and reflect on the season thus far.

It was a complete effort on Sept. 7 as the Gaels dominated the University of Toronto Blues by a score of 105-0 in the season opener at Nixon Field, marking new Head Coach John Lavery’s first win as the mastermind behind Queen’s Men’s Rugby.

Two women’s rugby players will travel to Aix-en-Provence, this June 10 to 12 to represent Canada in the 2024 FISU World University Championships Rugby Sevens.