Loyalist men’s rugby team losing streak now at 17

The Lancers were overpowered in scrums most of the night by St. Lawrence College. This was the team’s first shut out this season. Photo by Brett Bullen, QNet News.

By Brett Bullen

BELLEVILLE – The Lancers men’s rugby team’s losing streak continues with a 31-0 loss to the St. Lawrence College Vikings Wednesday night.

The team hasn’t won a game since 2015 and has lost a total of 17 games over three seasons.

The Lancers were coming off a 91-7 loss in their last game to Algonquin College on September 30, the largest margin of defeat they have suffered during the streak.

Loyalist started the game strong, battling for field position and stopping a few threatening pushes the Vikings made, keeping them off the board.

It wasn’t until 10 minutes left in the first half that St. Lawrence finally managed to score. Recovering a kick near the goal line after a bad bounce and swinging the ball across the field before they powered it across the line.

Things fell apart for the Lancers in the second half, injuries and fatigue caught up with them and St. Lawrence seemed to gain greater advantages in the scrums. The Vikings were able to consistently push the pile 10-20 yards down the field, leading to a couple of easy tries and taking a 17-0 lead.

Loyalist spent a lot of time near the try-line in the second half, but never managed to get past the St. Lawrence defence. Photo by Brett Bullen, QNet News

Loyalist seemed to get more aggressive at that point, forcing the ball close to the goal line on a few occasions but never managing to get in for the try. Lancer fullback Sebastian Hoffman said he knows where they went wrong.

“We were a little cocky. Everyone wanted to score that try themselves. In the future we need to work as a team and pass it out and work it around to the other side, rather than trying to do it as an individual.”

The Lancers paid for their aggression with some quick counterattacks and two easy tries for the Vikings late in the second half, pushing the score to 31-0 but not reflecting how close the game was to that point.

Lancers coach Kyle Ripley praised the team afterwards for what he thought was their best game of the season.

“I think the boys competed awesome, they took on last year’s silver medalists and kept the score to the smallest margin we’ve had all year.”

Ripley is aware of the losing streak his team seems to be trapped in, but knows all the Lancers can do is just try to improve each week.

“It’s been a while since we got a win, been a few seasons, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t looking to get that first win. You lose a game 91-7 and in your next game you lose 31-0 against last year’s silver medalists, I think that’s pretty positive.”

That positivity resonates with his players and they are taking things game by game looking at how they can be better. Troy Farrar said that score is not always what matters.

“We worked as a team to develop ourselves and our skills better. Even though the score was 31 for them and zero for us, in our hearts we still did pretty well.”

The Lancers record falls to 0-4 on the season with the loss, while St. Lawrence moves its record to 3-2.

Loyalist’s next chance to break the losing streak comes Oct. 17, when they play at home against Durham College.