Olympic Qualification within reach at the HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens
Bernadette Larose
Rugby 7s Senior Women
LANGFORD, BC (May 2, 2019) – Head coach John Tait has named his team that will compete on home soil in Langford, BC for the fifth stop on the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series—May 11 & 12th.
Canada is coming off an undefeated performance in Kitakyushu, Japan where a last gasp try won them the championship—Canada’s first since 2017. The momentum comes at an opportune time as Canada prepares for their home tournament at Westhills Stadium where Olympic qualification is on the table.
“Having the chance to go home off the back of this win should give us some confidence, but there’s always pressure at a home tournament,” said Tait
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to come top four and claim one of those Olympic qualifying spots. We took a massive step towards that in Kitakyushu and that is what we will keep focusing on.”
With the gold medal win, Canada moves into second place on the series and sits twenty points ahead of fifth place France. The team could punch their ticket to Tokyo 2020 at the tournament, so long as they build on their point lead over France and Ireland.
Karen Paquin had a dominate return to the series in Japan, scoring three tries on her first sevens tournament back since Rio 2016. She will return to the line up in Langford alongside fellow HSBC Dream Team member Ghislaine Landry – the women’s all-time leading scorer and captain for Canada.
Joining them is the current try-scorer leader Bianca Farella, who will look to continue her reign on top the series as Canada takes on Australia, Ireland, and Brazil in day one of competition.
The tournament will be played out of the newly renovated Westhills Stadium on May 11th & 12th, with multiple ticket options available. Get your tickets today at https://www.canadasevens.com/womens/tickets/
Stream every game of the HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens LIVE on cbcsports.ca or catch select games on the CBC broadcast—Saturday at 4pm ET/ 1pm PT and Sunday at 4pm ET/ 1pm PT. Bronze and gold medal matches will be broadcast at 11:30pm LOCAL.
Canada Roster:
1. Britt Benn, Guelph Redcoats (Napanee, ON)
2. Emma Chown, Aurora Barbarians (Barrie, ON)
3. Caroline Crossley, Castaway Wanderers (Victoria, BC)
4. Bianca Farella, Town of Mount Royal RCF (Montreal, QC)
5. Julia Greenshields, Sarnia Saints (Sarnia, ON)
6. Ghislaine Landry, Toronto Scottish (Toronto, ON) - ‘C’
7. Kaili Lukan, Unattached (Barrie, ON)
8. Kayla Moleschi, Williams Lake Rustlers (Williams Lake, BC)
9. Breanne Nicholas, London St. Georges RFC (Blenheim, ON)
10. Karen Paquin, Castaway Wanderers / CRQ (Quebec City, QC)
11. Keyara Wardley, Okotoks Lions (Vulcan, AB)
12. Charity Williams, Markham Irish (Toronto, ON)
Canada Schedule:
Canada vs. Brazil – 2:28pm ET/ 11:28am PT
Canada vs. Ireland – 5:12pm ET/ 2:12pm PT
Canada vs. Australia – 7:56pm ET/ 4:56pm PT