Tommies Look to get Over Hump, Conquer UNB in Finals.

The St. Thomas University Women’s Rugby team has been dominant over the past five seasons. Saturday will mark their fourth straight finals appearance. However, the Tommies have been unable to get over the final hump- winning the championship. The Tommies have lost the previous three championship games, all to the same team,  the UNB Ironmen. UNB and St. Thomas will battle it out on Saturday in what will be another edition of the famous “Battle of the Hill” series.

Third year Tommie and outside centre Kianna Laurin says the rivalry between the two teams is good for the city. “It makes the Fredericton atmosphere pretty interesting,” Laurin says. To bring home a championship, Laurin says they must “utilize all their strengths and put [our] weaknesses aside. And just kill it.” Laurin also says this team has chemistry and that will effect the outcome of the game. “We play really well together… we’re always there for each other.”

The Tommies have played well all season due to their consistency, leadership and a well rounded mix of players. Coming off a 32-5 semi-final win over the Mount Allison University Mounties, the Tommies will enter the ACCA finals with a 5-2 record. Both losses, however, have come against UNB, losing 45-12 and 29-10. “Our last game against UNB was probably our strongest game against them in a couple years,” Tommies head coach Meghan Morrison said. Morrison explains this year’s game has a different feeling. “There’s this feeling we’ve had in the past that UNB was unbeatable, but I

don’t think that’s the case this year… we’ve been repeating consistent things over the season. We’re saying a lot of the same things today that we’ve been saying all season.” Morrison says technical skills, supporting each other and how they communicate will determine the outcome of Saturday.

In what will be a muddy day, the Tommies will battle hard and hope to finally add an ACAA rugby championship to their collection of achievements.