On a Homecoming weekend packed with important matchups, the most influential of all may fall on Sunday. 24 hours after the football team takes centre stage at Ron Joyce Stadium, the Marauder rugby teams enter the less glamourous confines of Back 10 Field for a doubleheader against top OUA competition.
McMaster's women, currently ranked fourth in the country and undefeated at 3-0, face the team one place below them in the CIS top ten, the Guelph Gryphons, on Sunday.
The Gryphons are a perennial powerhouse in CIS women's rugby, but dropped crucial points in a draw with Waterloo a week ago to find themselves tied atop the Shiels Division standings with the Western Mustangs.
Having lost several key players to graduation, Guelph is not the nearly unstoppable force it has been in recent years. But quality contributors remain, headed by leading scorer and fifth-year winger Jennifer Dunn, and the Gryphons will not be overlooked on game day.
Balance has been the characterizing factor in McMaster's two full games this season, after their opener against the Trent Excalibur was called off due to thunderstorms and forfeited in their favour. While captain Cindy Nelles is the undeniable leader on the pitch, the team around her has shared the ball, resulting in seven different try scorers.
Rookie Sara Svoboda, whose sister Katie has also been a valuable addition this season, leads the team with 13 points. She has proven able to share kicking duties with veteran Stephanie Black when called upon, and has four converts to her name.
A win on Sunday would guarantee McMaster's place atop the Russell Division standings as the playoffs approach.
When that match concludes, the similarly undefeated Marauder men will size up an equally vital matchup against the Queen's Gaels, one of the three perfect teams currently sandwiched together at the top of the OUA standings.
Queen's sits level with McMaster on 15 points through three matches, but was tested by Brock a week ago in a 24-17 win. The Gaels will lean heavily on fullback David Worsley, who leads the team in tries and routinely kicks for points.
Much like the Marauder women's team, the men have enjoyed balanced scoring through four games this season. Mitch Santilli leads McMaster with four tries, but 12 different Marauders have crossed the end line in 2014.
Both McMaster teams will need their full arsenal on Sunday, if they hope to vault to the top of the OUA pile.
The no. 4-ranked women get their tilt against Guelph underway at noon, while the men square off against Queen's at 2:00 p.m.
