After a long off-season, the women’s rugby team returned to practices and got to play their first game of the year. The game, which happened on Feb. 27, resulted in a CWU win of 43-13 against Brigham Young University (BYU).

Freshman loose forward Abby Fearey said, “The second we got back, we were all very very hungry for live play.” 

After all players tested negative for COVID-19 they were able to start practices. Fearey said they get tested once a week because that is the only way they can be cleared to have contact at practice.

“We are doing our best to get negative test results so we can continue to do contact in practice since it’s a huge part of our game,” Fearey said. 

Freshman loose forward Kayla Guyton from New Zealand played all 80 minutes in her first game for CWU. 

“For my first game in America it was honestly kind of confusing dealing with some of the [referees], but overall pretty good,” Guyton said. 

Guyton said the team came out with a little bit of a slow start but they showed lot’s of grit.

“I definitely see us being a powerhouse this year,” Fearey said. 

The team’s most recent game took place on March 6 at Grand Canyon University (GCU). CWU won with a final score of 130-0.

Head Coach Trevor Richards told Wildcat Sports he was happy with the team’s performance at GCU.

“We played a mostly freshman side that was peppered with veteran experience,” Richards said. “The team moved the ball more fluidly than last week and did a better job in executing our systems on both sides of the ball. Our set piece was strong once again and I’m happy with a shutout victory.”

Richards told Wildcat Sports that while there was a lot to be satisfied with in their game against GCU, the team needs to focus on better spatial recognition and tactical play for their upcoming game.

“A big thanks goes out to our Wildcat family for supporting us and to GCU for being great hosts,” Richards said. “We look forward to growing a competitive relationship.”

The team is now gearing up to take on BYU again in Utah on March 13. Their next home game will be on March 20 against Lindenwood University.