Inductees

You can't tell the story of Saint Mary's Huskies rugby without mentioning Megan Kinsman BComm'07. Over more than 13 years with the program - as an All-Canadian player, assistant coach and head coach - Kinsman helped guide Huskies rugby through its formative years, from a newly established varsity program into a respected AUS contender and a foundational part of Saint Mary's Athletics.

 

A native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Megan discovered the sport of rugby in her grade 11 year at Dartmouth High School. Kinsman grew up playing basketball and volleyball, but was encouraged to pick up rugby by a friend, and despite not knowing any rules, quickly fell in love with the sport, particularly the camaraderie and team-bonding that made rugby unlike any sport she had experienced before.

 

In the fall of 2003, Kinsman committed to Saint Mary's, following in the footsteps of her father, a Saint Mary's graduate. Her Dartmouth High rugby coach was also an assistant coach with the Huskies, who had achieved official varsity status just one year earlier.

 

The early years were challenging - Kinsman played under a different head coach in each of her first three varsity seasons, and wins were difficult to come by. But the challenges only strengthened the bond between Kinsman and her teammates - and deepened her love for the game and commitment to the program.

 

"We were a super tight knit group, and whether we were winning or losing, we always just showed up, worked hard and had a lot of fun," recalls Megan. "The girls that I met at my first year at SMU are still some of my closest friends, and after my first year at SMU, I started playing club rugby and met so many great friends that are still involved in the sport to this day."

 

The tides started to change in 2006. Under head coach Glenn Johnston, the Huskies went 3-3 that season, and were eliminated in the AUS Semifinal by the powerhouse STFX X-Women, who went on to win the 2006 CIS Championship. Kinsman was named an AUS All-Star, the first of back-to-back All-Conference selections.

 

"SMU was just getting more engrained and respected in the local rugby community and we were starting to bring in some real talented rugby players," says Megan. "We were finally allowed to practice on the Huskies Stadium turf, which was great, and started to have some more structure and consistency around the program, and it was the most we felt like a team."

 

That momentum continued into Kinsman's fifth and final year as a Husky, as she was named Team MVP, an AUS All-Star and a CIS All-Canadian, becoming the second Huskies rugby player to earn national recognition.

 

Kinsman helped captain the Huskies back to the AUS Semifinal, where they defeated the UPEI Panthers by a score of 17-10, to punch their tickets to the Atlantic Championship Final. That 2007 final, played at Huskies Stadium, was historic for more than just the teams competing.

It was the first AUS rugby championship final played on artificial turf, establishing a precedent that would help shape the future of Atlantic university rugby. Although the Huskies ultimately fell to STFX in the championship game, Kinsman and her teammates had accomplished something larger: they had helped establish Saint Mary's as a legitimate force in AUS rugby and laid the foundation for the program's future.

 

After earning her Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2007, Megan stuck around the Huskies Rugby program, serving as an assistant coach to Dawn and Rod MacDonald for three seasons, before taking over as head coach in 2012. She coached the Huskies for four seasons, including leading the team to 4-4 records in back-to-back seasons in 2012 & 2013, and mentored several All-Star players, including CIS All-Canadian Jean Baker.

 

When she stepped away from Saint Mary's in 2016, Kinsman had spent more than a decade wearing the maroon & white - helping build the program as a player, shaping it as a coach and influencing generations of Huskies who followed. Her impact extends beyond statistics, awards and wins. Kinsman helped create the culture that would define Huskies rugby: hard work, resilience, friendship and an unwavering commitment to the team.

 

Today, Megan remains connected to the sport and the community that shaped her. She lives in Halifax with her husband, Nick Russell, whom she met through rugby, and their two children, Addy and Jake, and works as the Executive Director at MUFG Investor Services.

 

For her outstanding achievements as an athlete, her leadership on and off the field, and her lasting contribution to the growth and legacy of Saint Mary's Huskies rugby, Megan Kinsman is a deserving inductee of the Saint Mary's Athletics Hall of Fame.