October 31, 2025

Laval beats Axewomen to advance to consolation final

The Laval Rouge et Or left no doubt in the second consolation game of the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship, presented by The Rec Room Granville, as they overpowering the Acadia Axewomen, 41–7, on Friday afternoon at Thunderbird Stadium.

From the opening whistle, Laval’s attack was relentless. Léa Ouellet set the tone early with a try in the first minute, and Ève Godin followed up shortly after to make it 10–0. Anne Lamothe converted both tries and added one of her own midway through the half, stretching the lead to 19–0. Corinne Bellavance and Camille Arvin-Berod added further tries as Laval took a commanding 31–0 lead into halftime.

The Rouge et Or didn’t let up after the break. Corinne Fréchette and Nayka Goudreau each crossed the line to extend Laval’s advantage to 41–0 before Acadia finally broke through. The Axewomen showed resilience in the final 20 minutes, with Gabby Shaw scoring a well-earned try and Sarah Gunn converting to make it 41–7, but it was too little, too late against Laval’s structured defense and powerful forward play.

Lamothe was a standout for the Rouge et Or, finishing with 11 points on a try and three conversions, while Laval’s balanced scoring attack saw six different players touch down.

Bellavance won player-of-the-game honours for Laval, with Olivia Savoie getting the nod for Acadia.

With the win, Laval advances to Sunday’s fifth-place game at 11 a.m. against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, setting up a rematch of the RSEQ final. Acadia’s season comes to an after hard-fought effort against one of the nation’s perennial powerhouses. The AUS finalists close with an overall record of 5-4-0 (4-2-0 AUS).