鈥淚t鈥檚 a position we鈥檙e very familiar with,鈥� she said.
Most famously, of course, with the bronze medal from the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
The goal is to not be satisfied with third but to surpass the world 1-2 punch of Australia and New Zealand, something the Greater Victoria-based Canadian team did earlier this season in stunning the Olympic-champion Aussies by winning the Sydney Sevens right in their own backyard. But that鈥檚 easier said than done every time out.
sa国际传媒 has 46 points in the HSBC World Series standings after three of six tournaments and trails leading New Zealand by 10 points and second-place Australia by four. Fourth-place Fiji is 10 points behind sa国际传媒 and fifth-place Russia 12 points in arrears of the Canucks.
鈥淲e usually perform well for four games. But tournaments are won by the teams who perform well over all five games,鈥� added Landry, after a recent training session on the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence pitch on the Camosun College Interurban campus.
Meanwhile, Landry said she has noticed what she describes as a 鈥渄ifferent vibe鈥� to this year from last, which is to be expected in a post-Olympic year.
鈥淭here is less stress,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize just how much stress there was last year leading up to the Rio Olympics until it was done and I look back on it now.鈥�
Individually in her career, Landry has been the 鈥渙ther one鈥� to former captain Jen Kish being 鈥渢he one鈥� in terms of leadership role and media attention. The veteran Kish is still a member of the national team but has given over the captainship to Landry for the quadrennial leading to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
鈥淚 was always part of the leadership group so I鈥檝e always felt I had that role,鈥� said Landry, of receiving the 鈥楥鈥� on the road to Tokyo 2020, which will proceed through the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and 2018 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 not that much of a shift for me.鈥�
Known for her lacerating speed and open-field runs to score tries, Landry is now the all-time leading scorer in the women鈥檚 HSBC World Series with 706 career points.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not something I personally focus on,鈥� said the Toronto native, who turns 29 this month. 鈥淎 lot of my tries have been the result of teamwork.鈥�
Spoken like a true captain and a true leader.
sa国际传媒 opens pool play today in Kitakyushu against England, Spain and the U.S.
Canadian head coach John Tait of Mill Bay has made two changes from the team that placed third in the last World Series tournament in Las Vegas. Veteran Kayla Moleschi of William Lake, the Canadian career leader with 22 World Series tournaments played, and rookie Caroline Crossley of Victoria are injured and will miss Japan. Moleschi, Canadian player of the year for 2016, is done for the season with a broken foot and that is a huge blow to sa国际传媒. Drawing in are veteran Ashley Steacy of Lethbridge and rookie Julia Greenshields of Sarnia, Ont.
The next HSBC World Series tournament after Japan is the home-turf hosted sa国际传媒 Sevens on May 27-28 at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
