Canada's rosters named for conclusion of the 2025 HSBC SVNS season in Los Angeles

The players that will represent Canada at the final stop of the 2025 HSBC SVNS season in Los Angeles over May 3 to 4 have been announced by Head Coaches Jocelyn Barrieau and Sean White.  

Dignity Health Sports Park, the rugby sevens venue for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, will host the winner-takes-all HSBC SVNS World Championship, which will see Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team compete in Pool A against League Winners New Zealand, Japan, and Great Britain. Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will compete in the HSBC SVNS Play-off, taking on Uruguay, Ireland and Germany in Pool B. 

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team enters this final leg of the series ranked fourth overall, following back-to-back bronze medal finishes in Hong Kong and Singapore.  

“Our team has been training this week in Chula Vista alongside our Pacific Four Series squad, living out our One Squad philosophy with combined training sessions and scrimmages as both teams prepare to compete next weekend,” said Jocelyn Barrieau, Head Coach of Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team. “We solidified our foundations and are very proud of our performances in Hong Kong and Singapore.  We have identified areas we want to improve on and the gaps we want to close going into Los Angeles. We have a talented, passionate, resilient group of players, and we are all excited to get back on the pitch together in LA.” 

The roster includes eight players from the Hong Kong and Singapore double podium finish squad. Charity Williams returns to competition for the first time since HSBC SVNS Vancouver following recovery from injury. Asia Hogan-Rochester and Alysha Corrigan will play with the team for the first time since HSBC SVNS Vancouver as well, with Corrigan having competed in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) final with the Saracens in March.   

Savannah Bauder, who made a strong impression in her international sevens debut in December in Dubai and Cape Town, returns following recovery from an injury sustained during training camp ahead of HSBC SVNS Perth. Larah Wright, who made her debut in Perth, has earned her second opportunity to represent the nation on Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team. 

Following the HSBC SVNS World Championship, Alysha Corrigan, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Florence Symonds, Mahalia Robinson and Olivia Apps will join Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team for the remaining matches of the Pacific Four Series in New Zealand and Australia. 

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team finished third in the standings following three rounds of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger, qualifying them for the HSBC SVNS Play-off as one of the top four teams. 

The journey to Los Angeles started in November, with Canada winning Rugby Americas North Sevens to qualify for the Sevens Challenger. After participating in the men’s invitational held alongside HSBC SVNS Vancouver, they made their way to Cape Town for the first two Sevens Challenger rounds, finishing second and third on back-to-back weekends. The team placed fourth in Krakow for round three. 

“We’ve had this tournament circled on our calendar all season,” said Sean White, Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team. “We’ve identified key areas of improvement coming out of Krakow and have made that our focus over the last couple of weeks of camp in Langford. I believe our continuity in selection from Krakow to LA will be a benefit to our on-field performance and cohesion. Our aim is to finish the season as one of the top 12 teams, and we look forward to earning the opportunity to do so.” 

The 12 players who represented Canada in Krakow will return to the global stage in Los Angeles, with the addition of Kal Sager, who returns to the squad following recovery from injury. The roster includes Rhys James, Kainoa Lloyd and James Thiel, who made their international sevens debuts in Poland, with James and Lloyd each putting on two-try performances. 

Five of these players (Rhys James, Elias Hancock, James Thiel, Kyle Tremblay, Ethan Turner) were also recently named to teams in the new Rugby Premier League (RPL) and will depart for India in June for this unique player development opportunity that will see nine Canadians compete with and against players and coaches from some of the top nations on the HSBC SVNS series. 

MORE INFO 

For the most up to date information on the HSBC SVNS Series and live coverage, including details on the event format, the schedule and the latest news, visit the official website: www.svns.com. More information on the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger can be found here. 

LOS ANGELES SCHEDULE 

*All matches will be available on TSN+, with Saturday’s Pitch 1 pool play matches available on TSN5 as of 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET, and Sunday’s finals available on TSN4 as of 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET. 

Saturday May 3 
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs Japan 
10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET 
Watch live on TSN+ 

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Uruguay 
10:22am PT / 1:22pm ET 
Watch live on TSN+ 

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs Great Britain 
1:01pm PT / 4:01pm ET 
Watch live on TSN+ 

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Ireland 
1:01pm / 4:01pm ET 
Watch live on TSN+ 

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs New Zealand 
4:29pm PT / 7:29pm ET 
Watch live on TSN5 / TSN+ 

Sunday May 4 
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Germany 
12:12pm PT / 3:12pm ET 
Watch live on TSN+ 

Men’s play-off finals, women’s semi-finals and finals 
Times and opponents TBD 
Watch live on TSN+ (TSN4 coverage begins at 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET) 

CANADA’S WOMEN’S SEVENS TEAM ROSTER 

4. Breanne Nicholas (Blenheim, ON) – Kent Havoc RFC 
6. Charity Williams (Toronto, ON) – Markham Irish / University of British Columbia 
7. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia 
8. Carmen Izyk (High River, AB) – Foothills lions / Queen’s University / RCTPM 
9. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC   
16. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) – CRFC / Saracens 
19. Carissa Norsten (Waldheim, SK) – Kirin RFC / University of Victoria  
22. Sabrina Poulin (St-Georges, QC) – Town of Mount Royal RFC / Exeter Chiefs  
23. Shalaya Valenzuela (Abbotsford, BC) – Abbotsford RFC 
24. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC 
26. Savannah Bauder (North Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia 
29. Mahalia Robinson (Fulford, QC) – Town of Mount Royal RFC 
47. Larah Wright (Calgary, AB) – University of Victoria 

CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS TEAM ROSTER 

1. Rhys James (Kelowna, BC) – UBC Okanagan / Pacific Pride 
2. James Thiel (Abbotsford, BC) – Abbotsford RFC / Pacific Pride  
3. Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, BC) – Burnaby Lake Rugby Club 
5. Alex Russell (Bracebridge, ON) – McGill University  
13. Brenden Black (Oakville, ON) – Oakville Crusaders / Guelph University  
15. Ethan Hager (Brantford, ON) – Brantford Harlequins / Castaway Wanderers  
18. Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, ON) – Toronto City Rugby / University of Victoria 
20. Jamie Armstrong (Ottawa, ON) – Ottawa Irish / University of Ottawa  
22. Kyle Tremblay (White Rock, BC) – Pacific Pride / Bayside RFC 
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) – Foothills Lions RFC / Westshore RFC  
30. Kainoa Lloyd (Mississauga, ON) – Mississauga Blues / James Bay AA 
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans / Trent University  
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) – Bytown Blues / University of Ottawa