Rugby Axewomen open National Championships against Laval on Wed evening

TORONTO - The defending champions Université Laval Rouge et Or begin the quest for a repeat when they take on the Acadia Axewomen Wednesday at 5 pm ET in the first round of the 2021 U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship at Nixon Field in Kingston, Ont.

The host Queen's Gaels earn a date with the Canada West Champion UBC Thunderbirds on Wednesday at 7:30 pm ET, with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Laval-Acadia match.

The other quarterfinal bracket sees the Victoria Vikes taking on the OUA champion Guelph Gryphons Wednesday at 2 pm ET, while the Ottawa Gee-Gees and the AUS champion StFX X-Women open the tournament at 11 am ET.

CBC Sports' digital platforms (CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem (Canada only) and the CBC Sports App) provide complete English championship coverage. French broadcasts will be available on USPORTS.ca.

Quarterfinal A – Wed. Nov. 10, 11 am ET / 8 am PT

The AUS champion StFX X-Women's quest to establish a U SPORTS record with a seventh national rugby title begins on Wednesday when they take on the always tough Ottawa Gee-Gees (4-3) at Nixon Field. The Gee-Gees have medalled at each of the past five U SPORTS championships, winning the school's only title in 2017.

Quarterfinal B – Wed. Nov. 10, 2 pm ET / 11 am PT

The OUA champion Guelph Gryphons will be seeking their third U SPORTS title and enter the championship with a 5-1 overall record, having upset the Queen's Gaels (5-1) with a 32-23 victory in the OUA title game.

Guelph faces the Canada West silver medallists Victoria Vikes (4-3) in their quarterfinal contest on Wednesday at 2 pm ET. Victoria returns to the championship for the first time since 2018 and is seeking the institution's first U SPORTS rugby crown.

Quarterfinal C – Wed. Nov. 10, 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT

The Rouge et Or finished the 2021 campaign with a perfect 7-0 mark in RSEQ regular season and playoff action to earn their fourth consecutive berth in the championship tournament.

Laval's opponents are the Acadia Axewomen (6-1), upset 42-24 by StFX in the AUS championship game. Acadia finished sixth at the 2019 championship in Ottawa and is seeking its first national title.

Quarterfinal D – Wed. Nov. 10, 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT

The UBC Thunderbirds enter the tournament as the only team other than Laval to post an unblemished record this year, winning the Canada West crown with a combined 7-0 mark. 

They face the host Queen's Gaels (5-1), who came up one game shy of perfection in OUA play, falling to Guelph in the conference championship game. Queen's had been ranked as high as #2 in Canada this season, and experts agree the Gaels are a team to be reckoned with during this tournament.