RECAP: Women’s Rugby take down Montreal in action-packed home opener

The Gee-Gees took Matt Anthony Field with unmatched energy on Saturday afternoon, welcoming the Montreal Carabin to open the 2024 RSEQ Women's Rugby season.

The first try came quickly for the Gee-Gees as Leigha Stiles reached the endzone only three minutes into the action. The Carabin didn't take their time, responding with a try of their own only moments later.

Ottawa's strength shone quickly as Ketsia Kamba, Ngozi Mosindi, and Sophie McDonald each broke through the Montreal endzone to give the Gee-Gees a substantial 26-5 lead heading into halftime.

"We back ourselves and back each other," Mosindi said. "We're going to continue to get better throughout the season, we're not even at our peak yet."

The Gee-Gees' momentum didn't sway as they came out for the second half. Emma Wade earned a try to get things started. Mosindi followed up with a great run to score her second try of the day.

"We compete, everyone is on the field at 100 per cent," Gee-Gees head coach, Duncan McNaughton said. "I am really excited by how everybody performed. Our bench came on and really gave everyone energy. We have a great group"

A late penalty against Montreal gave Aurora Bowie the opportunity to put the ball through the goal posts for three points. After making a handful converts, the penalty kick was automatic for Bowie.

The Gee-Gees came out of the afternoon with a 41-8 victory to start the season.

"We came out really strong, Montreal played great but in those first 20 minutes we were really on top of them," McNaughton said.

Ottawa will see the field again on Sept. 8 when they head to Quebec City to take on their biggest RSEQ rivals, the Laval Rouge et Or. The Gee-Gees are back on home turf on Sep. 14 to host the Concordia Stingers.