Vandal, BU run rampant on Regina

It took just a few minutes for Madi Vandal to show the impact the Brandon University rugby program is having on her.

The second-year wing scored the first try of BU’s Prairie University Women’s Rugby Conference season on Saturday, then added two more and a bunch of impressive runs to overpower the University of Regina 69-17 at John Reilly Field.

Last year, it was safe to assume most big plays by the Bobcats were when they got the ball to Raegan Ricard, but Vandal and a few others have turned the team into a 15-headed monster.

She credits coach Brian Yon for helping develop the entire team.

“Last year … I wouldn’t say I did as many runs, wanting to instantly pass that ball off,” Vandal said. “(Now) I see open field in front of me and know I can run it. That comes with a level of confidence.

“Yon (instills) a lot of confidence in us. He’s strict and he’s hard sometimes but I think we all need that. It makes you want to step up as a person and as a player.

“He (instills) a lot of personal confidence, but on the field he really implements that when you have the ball, you’re just as good as everyone else.”

Vandal opened the scoring five minutes in, but it took a while for the Bobcats to break through again. Regina controlled the ball for about 12 minutes of messy play, including a stretch of about four minutes of scrums as the teams struggled to execute one cleanly or immediately dropped a pass to trigger another scrum.

But when Brandon finally got the ball back, Vandal shook off three defenders on a huge run, finding Calle Peters, who made a terrific offload while being tackled to set up Ava Page’s try.

Then the Bobcats took the ensuing kickoff down the pitch in a heartbeat as Megan Thompson broke two tackles and Emily Van mol finished it off.

Van mol added a second try just a few minutes later to lead 29-0. The outside-centre had already exceeded expectations for herself in her return to game action.

Van mol’s 2025 campaign was cut short when she broke her collarbone early in the second match of the fall. She recovered for the team’s sevens tournament in the winter, only to break her ankle there.

After a dominant opening half, she realized she’s back better than ever.

“I feel a lot stronger. When I injured my upper body, I realized I need to make a change and started lifting upper body. I definitely think I came back a lot stronger this year,” Van mol said.

“I’m a little more experienced and more confident with hitting rucks, driving them back and wanting to steal the ball. When I started playing, it was all ‘Run as fast as I can, score a try and everyone will love me.’ Now it’s ‘I need to be there for the contact, I need to make my tackles, I need to be over the ball for my team so we can keep possession of the ball.’”

Regina found its legs again late in the half, up a player with BU star Raegan Ricard sidelined due to a yellow card. The visitors nearly scored before turning the ball over and opening a lane for Brooke Miner to race the ball back the length of the pitch for another try.

Finally, Regina fought its way through and Robyn Kirwan ended the shutout bid just before halftime, making it 34-5.

The second half started much cleaner than the first, as both teams showed their ability to sustain longer possessions and string passes together. BU worked the ball the width of the field three times without losing the ball, then eventually swung it out to Kierstin Vandekerckhove for a try 10 minutes into the frame.

Regina replied on a bundle of Brandon penalties as Danie Poju-Babalola rumbled over the try-line to cut the deficit to 41-12.

Ricard immediately replied with two tries, then Cassie Duck called her own number after a scrum and made a terrific run down the right side to score for Regina.

In the dying minutes, Kateri Mills stole the ball and raced down the sideline before dishing to Hannah Eagles for the final score.

Thompson made her seventh convert of the game to send the Bobcats off on the road next weekend on a high note.

While the game was closer than the score suggested in some ways, the clear difference was Brandon’s ability to swing the ball wide and put pressure on Regina’s backs.

Meanwhile, the U of R seldom made more than two passes before falling forward for a short gain.

“We’ve got some really strong runners like Madi Vandal, Raegan Ricard; they’re crazy out there,” Van mol said. “They’re very hard runners, fast runners and we’ve got a lot of strength in our back line.

“If we can hit that fast, we’re going to be making it through.”

The Bobcats travel to Regina this weekend to face Mount Royal University on Friday and then the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology on Sunday.

Their next home action is Oct. 17 against the University of Saskatchewan.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com