Olivia DeMerchant: “We’re always challenging each other to learn and grow”

Having played at two Rugby World Cups, Olivia DeMerchant’s experience is invaluable to a Canadian Women’s 15s team currently preparing to mount its own challenge to be crowned World champions in New Zealand later this year.

The 31-year-old was a member of the 2014 group which reached the final in France, losing to England in Paris. After making her debut for the national team just a year earlier, it was a campaign that had a huge impact on her.

“That team was full of complete grit,” she said of the 2014 squad. “A group of athletes that would do anything for anyone on the field. We just pushed our bodies to the limits with that team and being one of the youngest ones there – Tyson Beukeboom, Emily Belchos and I were the youngest - I was just honoured to be with some of those big names like Barbara Mervin, Kayla Mack and Kelly and Laura Russell - even though it was Laura's first one. I knew I wanted to soak up every moment of it. Making it that far felt right because we put so much heart into it.”

Watch DeMerchant and her Canada’s Women’s 15s teammates in action versus Wales at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, NS on Saturday, August 27. Click here to buy tickets now.

Three years later, DeMerchant was on the 2017 squad which, despite winning the 5th-place play-off against Australia, was ultimately disappointed it couldn’t go one better than its previous outing.

“We really wanted to come back and win it all,” she recalled. “Unfortunately, one bad performance really crushed our dreams. It was really hard but I think we really pulled up our socks between the round robin and going into the consolation semi-final against Wales and played a much better game against them.”

Women’s 15s Head Coach Kevin Rouet’s current squad – which is seeded No. 3 heading to New Zealand – has a balanced blend of youth and experience. The likes of DeMerchant, Russell, Tyson Beukeboom, and Karen Paquin, to name just a few, have multiple Rugby World Cups under their belts. Meanwhile, other players are preparing for their first – and all the strains on the body and mind that come with it.

“It’s good for the younger players because there are a few of us that have done one or two [Rugby World Cups],” DeMerchant explained. “So, I think it’s good for them to have us to lean on and people that bring back the realism of having to train and work hard for that long of a period. Being on tour for that long does take its toll not only on the body but the mental game as well.”

According to DeMerchant, every team she’s been part of has been different. This one, she says, is “very tight knit” and the players hold each other accountable to working hard and being the best they can possibly be, on and off the field.

“We don’t have cliques on our team,” she said. “You can hang out with anybody and we’re accepting of everyone else. I think we’re always challenging each other to learn and grow. That’s very important to a team and trying to set the standard with each other is a very high priority on our list. So, going into World Cup, it’s important to not only have a team that wants to grow together but also would do anything for each other.”

DeMerchant first began her rugby journey in grade 7, when she was encouraged to go to practice by her mother after expressing an interest in the sport. “I haven’t looked back since, really,” she said. There have been several setbacks – being cut from her provincial team and missing out for selection for Canada’s U20s program one year spring to mind when she looks back – but DeMerchant persevered and ended up enjoying two tours with the U20s in the Bahamas and California.

She made her Senior Women’s 15s debut in 2013 against France and, despite the magnitude of the moment, managed to remain calm. “I went on as a sub, it was cold and twilight time, and everything went quiet. I felt pretty chill going onto the field. I was excited but it was a really amazing feeling. I felt like I was ready for this and just excited to go onto the pitch.”

Now, DeMerchant sits among the top five most-capped players for Canada’s Women’s 15s and has a test match against Wales in her adopted home of Halifax, NS – having grown up in Mapledale, NB - coming up next week. She admits it’s going to be a special feeling running out at the Wanderers Grounds in front of so many family, friends and members of the Nova Scotia rugby community.

“To have so many people coming out – my volunteer fire department is coming out, people from work are coming out, my neighbor is coming and he’s never watched a rugby game in his life - I think it’s really special to have it at home and to play in front of a home crowd,” she said. “For Halifax to have the chance to show how much it loves rugby is a great opportunity as well. Nova Scotia has done rugby well for the last couple of years, it’s really promoted the game and people are excited to have live sports back for sure.”

If she avoids injury and is selected against Wales, DeMerchant – who works as a kinesiologist in Dartmouth - will earn her 49th cap for Canada, setting up the possibility of reaching No. 50 in the next fixture.

“I can’t believe I’m there, the time has gone so quickly and I’ve played for the last nine years almost,” she said. “It’s been an experience and I would never change anything. Tyson Beukeboom and I are in line to hit 50 together – hopefully, if we’re both named to game sheets and stay healthy. To not only get my 50th cap, but to get it with Tyson would be something else because we started our experience together.”