Women’s Sevens Roster set for Sydney

Bernadette Larose 21/01/2019

Rugby 7s Senior Women

LANGFORD, BC (January 21, 2019) – Canada’s Women’s Sevens head coach John Tait has selected the 13 players that will be travelling to Sydney, AUS for the next stop of the 2018-2019 HSBC Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series, February 1-3, 2019.

Captaining the team will be Ghislaine Landry, who led Canada to bronze and silver medal to open the season in Glendale and Dubai respectively. Landry currently sits atop the series with most-points scored overall, notching 73 in the first two series stops.

Following closely behind in the standings is Bianca Farella who also returns to the lineup for Canada. The 26-year-old Quebec native has 12 tries in her 12 matches played in the 2018-2019 series so far.

Canada will face Fiji, Ireland, and Russia in pool play—all teams they’ve already seen throughout the series.

“We’re pretty familiar with the opposition and what they’re capable of. All three offer some challenges,” said head coach John Tait.

“We’ve just got to go out and make sure we get that mental edge and get a good start.”

The only change in the lineup, Keyara Wardley has the chance to win her first cap for Canada in Sydney. Wardley helped lead Canada to a bronze medal at the Youth Olympics this past fall.

"Keyara was a standout performer at the Youth Olympic Games. She showed her skill set and plays with composure beyond what you would expect of someone so young. She has a ton of potential with her speed and size, combined with an aggressive mindset. She earned her selection with consistent performances both in age grade as well as our recent San Diego camp with the USA." said Tait.

With Olympic qualification on the line, Canada is heading into Sydney in second place and will be looking to continue their winning ways throughout the rest of the series.

“We have a belief in this squad that we can always be on the podium. This year with the Olympic qualification we made the goal simple, we’ve got to be top four in every tournament.” added Tait.

A strong performance in Sydney is a crucial step in their pursuit of Tokyo 2020, as the team looks to add on some more points and remain at the top of the pack.

All matches will be streamed LIVE cbcsports.ca. Follow @cbcsports on Twitter and Instagram for any broadcast updates.

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Canada’s men and women’s sevens team will compete at home in BC in the HSBC Canada Sevens tournament. The men will compete in Vancouver, March 9-10th and women will be in Langford May 11-12th.

Single day and tournament passes for Vancouver on currently on sale and are available at https://www.canadasevens.com/tickets/

Tickets for the women’s event are set to go on sale soon. Stay tuned to the Rugby Canada and Canada Sevens channels for updates.

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Canada’s Roster for Sydney:

1. Olivia Apps, Lindsay RFC (Lindsay, ON)

2. Britt Benn, Guelph Redcoats (Napanee, ON)

3. Emma Chown, Aurora Barbarians (Barrie, ON)

4. Caroline Crossley, Castaway Wanderers (Victoria, BC)

5. Bianca Farella, Town of Mount Royal RCF (Montreal, QC)

6. Julia Greenshields, Sarnia Saints (Sarnia, ON)

7. Sara Kaljuvee, Toronto Scottish (Ajax, ON)

8. Ghislaine Landry, Toronto Scottish (Toronto, ON)