The Brock women’s rugby team will tackle their next season under the leadership of new head coach Lauryn Bons.

Bons spent last season as an assistant coach with the Brock Badgers, where she was responsible for transition and attack as well as backs-specific skill development, and has coached with Rugby Ontario’s 7s and 15s programs, including at the 2025 Canada Summer Games.

“It’s a huge privilege to have been selected to coach the team,” she said. “The team has really exemplified their value of family, and I’m honoured they want me to be a part of that family and that they have the confidence in me to lead this team forward.”

Coaching is a way for Bons to give back to a sport she says has given so much to her over the years. An Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champion and two-time U SPORTS bronze medallist with the Queen’s Gaels, her playing career also includes stints with the Ontario Blues senior women’s team and the semi-professional Premier Rugby Sevens league.

“Lauryn has thoroughly impressed us with her professionalism, her understanding of today’s student-athlete and her clear vision for the future of our program,” said Courtney Smith, Associate Director, Brock Sports and Recreation. “Her background in sport psychology and mental performance, combined with her coaching and playing experience at the highest levels, gives her a unique ability to help our student-athletes thrive both on and off the field.”

Bons’ coaching philosophy is driven by the values of belonging and connection.

“I really think that if athletes feel like they belong, regardless of their role on the team, their performance will follow. Keeping an athlete-centered approach and making sure they feel connected is only going to drive motivation,” she said.

Her approach was shaped, in part, by working with renowned performance consultant Owen Eastwood at a New Zealand rugby academy in 2019. His guidance helped her define her values and sparked an interest in sport psychology.

Bons studied sport psychology while completing a master’s at Queen’s University and continues to research the topic as a PhD student at Brock.

She believes all these experiences have equipped her to help the team navigate the challenges of being student-athletes.

“It’s important that part of their identity is rugby, but it can’t be all of it,” she said. “I want them to know they are valuable to this team while also recognizing there are other parts of life. Ensuring their relationships on and off the field are strong matters, and the girls and women I have coached have really influenced this holistic approach as the women’s game is highly relational.”

Looking ahead, Bons is optimistic about the coming season and the future of the program. After seven consecutive OUA semifinal appearances, the Brock Badgers women’s rugby team is aiming to reach the OUA final for the first time in program history.

“We already have a strong foundation built on a group of exceptionally talented, motivated and resilient student-athletes,” she said. “Now, our focus is on developing those strengths, both on and off the field, by creating a training environment where teammates are going to challenge, support and empower each other and help prepare the team to perform at the next level.”