LONDON, Ont. – Breanne Nichols had three tries while Meaghann Buitinga added six converts to help the Western Mustangs women's rugby team defeat the Brock Badgers 52-0 on Wednesday night at Western's new Alumni Field.
 
It was a technically strong game for Western at both ends of the field. Mustangs head coach Natascha Wesch was pleased with her team's performance but sees areas for improvement. "It was a positive outcome," says Wesch. "We did what we were supposed to for the most part but we have a lot to work on if we want to compete for an OUA championship."
 
The Mustangs were quick to find their flow as Western's Breanne Nicholas posted the first try of the game before the 10-minute mark and Buitinga followed with the conversion. It was only a few minutes later that Western's Rebecca Matheson scored another try for the Purple and White while Buitinga added another conversion to give the Mustangs an early 14-0 lead. The Mustangs continued to move the ball well and a nice Western pass enabled Nicholas to score her second try of the match while Buitinga kicked her third convert. A beautiful pass from Danielle Spice allowed for the fourth try of the game, this time scored by Western's Tegan Williams.
 
The half did not belong solely to the offence, however, as Western's defence was impenetrable and the Mustangs managed to keep the Badgers off the board despite a strong effort from Brock. Lori Josephson scored her first try of the match in the dying minutes of the half to give the Mustangs a 33-0 lead heading into the second.
 
The second half featured strong defence from both teams, but Western's offence pulled through once again as Nicholas charged from outside the 22-meter line for her third try of the match. Although strong offence from the Badgers kept the Mustangs in their own end for much of the second half, Hilary Dingman's posted another try for Western, and following Buitinga's sixth successful conversion the Mustangs led 47-0. Josephson scored her second try of the match with just a few minutes left in the game to set the final score at 52-0 for the Mustangs.
 
The Mustangs hit the field again on September 21 to face the York Lions at Alumni Field. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.