GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's rugby team left it all out on the pitch, but ultimately fell just short in taking home a medal from nationals. On Sunday afternoon (Nov. 8) at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium, the Guelph Gryphons suffered a 38-33 overtime loss at the hands of the Quebec champion Laval Rouge et Or in the bronze medal game at the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championships, presented by Homewood Health.
The Gryphons, seeded No. 5 in the eight-team tournament, and the Laval Rouge et Or, seeded No. 3, produced one of the most exciting matches of the entire tournament, with Guelph showing tremendous resolve to fight back late in regulation to force overtime. With Laval leading 26-12 in the 60th minute, the Gryphons would mount a comeback with a 61st minute try from
Jillian Bernard-Jardine and a 70th minute try from
Abigail Turner to tie things at 26-26 and force overtime.
Unfortunately for the Gryphons, it would be Laval jumping out to an early lead in OT, with Sarah-Jeanne Provost scoring a try just two minutes into overtime to put the Rouge et Or up 33-26. In the 85th minute, Laval would add another try from national player of the year, Camille Arvin-Bérod, giving Laval a 38-26 lead. Guelph would continue to fight until the end, with
Milla Sayavongsa's 88th minute try making it a 38-33 game. But that would be as close as the Gryphons would get, with Laval escaping with the five-point, overtime victory to capture U SPORTS bronze medals. The Gryphons fall just short of reaching the U SPORTS podium for the first time since 2018 (when they were U SPORTS silver medalists).
The national championship tournament, which was being hosted at the University of Guelph for the third time in school history and first time since 2014, concludes with an all-B.C. matchup, as the No. 8-seeded UBC Thunderbirds face the No. 2-seed University of Victoria Vikes. UBC will be looking to make it three straight national titles with the U SPORTS gold medal game set for Sunday at 4:15pm. All games from the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championships can be streamed for free, live online on CBC's digital platforms (
CBC Gem,
CBC Sports.ca,
CBC Sports Youtube).
Scoring Summary - 2026 U SPORTS Bronze Medal Game (Laval vs Guelph - Nov. 8, 2026)
| Minute |
School |
Type of score |
Player |
Score |
11'
|
Laval |
Try |
Émily Fortin
(convert by Amélie Tremblay)
|
Guelph 0 | Laval 7 |
14'
|
Guelph |
Try |
Madeline Di Giroloamo
(convert by Amanda Sarabura)
|
Guelph 7 | Laval 7 |
35' |
Laval |
Try |
Camille Arvin-Bérod
(convert by Amélie Tremblay)
|
Guelph 7 | Laval 14 |
Halftime
|
|
|
|
|
43'
|
Guelph |
Try |
Candace Kelly
(convert no good)
|
Guelph 12 | Laval 14 |
46'
|
Laval |
Try |
Anne Lamothe
(convert by Amélie Tremblay)
|
Guelph 12 | Laval 21 |
51'
|
Laval |
Try |
Corrine Bellavance
(convert no good)
|
Guelph 12 | Laval 26 |
61'
|
Guelph |
Try |
Jillian Bernard-Jardine
(convert by Amanda Sarabura)
|
Guelph 19 | Laval 26 |
70'
|
Guelph |
Try |
Abigail Turner
(convert by Amanda Sarabura)
|
Guelph 26 | Laval 26 |
Overtime
|
|
|
|
|
72'
|
Laval |
Try |
Sarah-Jeanne Provost
(convert by Ariane Proulx)
|
Guelph 26 | Laval 33 |
85'
|
Laval |
Try |
Camille Arvin-Bérod
(convert no good)
|
Guelph 26 | Laval 38 |
88'
|
Guelph |
Try |
Milla Sayavongsa
(convert by Amanda Sarabura)
|
Guelph 33 | Laval 38 |
