Tait names roster for HSBC Canada Women's Sevens

Arguably the most popular event on the HSBC Women’s World Series Sevens, the 2018 event is once again set to be a humdinger for all involved.

Defending champions New Zealand are in good form and come into the tournament as favourites to lift the Cup for a third time. Australia, who currently lead the World Series with 56 points will also pose a major threat for the title, while third-placed, dark-horses, Russia cannot be counted out either.

All eyes, however, will be on Canada, who will be eager to make a statement on day one in front of the packed house expected at the Home of Canadian Rugby in Langford, British Columbia.

Canada currently sit in fifth place on the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series standings after a disappointing result in Kitakyushu last month, but will take confidence from their impressive showing in Langford last year, which resulted in a silver medal for Canada.

With two tournaments left on the circuit, Canada Sevens will provide a great opportunity for teams to stamp their authority on the World Series ahead of the much-anticipated Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco in July.

Fans making the trip to Westhills Stadium are in for a treat on day one, as Canada kick off pool play against Australia in a repeat of last year’s semi-final. Canada will follow that up with a match against Spain before the hosts close out the day against a very much improved Irish outfit.

Canada Head Coach John Tait has once again named a strong line-up with Captain, Ghislaine Landry returning from injury to lead the team. Brittany Benn misses out this time with an injury, while Pam Buisa replaces Olivia Apps to make her debut in the only other change from Kitakyushu. 

Roster HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens:

Pam Buisa – Ottawa Irish (Gatineau, QC)
Caroline Crossley – Castaway Wanderers (Victoria, BC)
Hannah Darling – Peterborough Pagans (Warsaw, ON)
Bianca Farella – Town of Mont Royal RFC (Montreal, QC)
Julia Greenshields – Sarnia Saints (Sarnia, ON)
Sara Kaljuvee – Toronto Scottish (Ajax, ON)
Ghislaine Landry  – Toronto Scottish (Toronto, ON) 
Megan Lukan – Unattached (Barrie, ON)
Kayla Moleschi – Williams Lake Rustlers (Williams Lake, BC)
Breanne Nicholas – London St. Georges RFC (Blenheim, ON)
Natasha Watcham-Roy – Hull Volant (Gatineau, QC)
Charity Williams – Markham Irish (Toronto, ON)

Unavailable for selection:

Britt Benn – Guelph Redcoats (Napanee, ON)

Pool A:
New Zealand
Fiji
England 
Brazil

Pool B:
France
Russia
USA
Japan

Pool C:
Australia
Spain
Ireland
Canada

Schedule:

Day 1:
Canada vs. Australia at 2:36pm ET/11:36am PT
Canada vs. Spain at 5:08pm ET/2:08pm PT
Canada vs. Ireland at 8pm ET/5pm PT

Watch the action live on cbc.ca/sports