Rugby sa国际传媒 is hoping home-turf advantage in this week’s North American and Caribbean qualifier at Starlight Stadium proves consequential in carrying its men’s and women’s national sevens teams to the Paris Olympics next summer.
There is an added layer to the home storyline for the six Island players named to the Canadian team rosters Monday — Sophie De Goede of Victoria, University of Victoria Vikes player Krissy Scurfield and Fancy Bermudez of Westshore RFC on the women’s side and Victoria players Lachlan Kratz and Jack Carson and also Matthew Oworu of Pacific Pride on the men’s team.
“In Victoria, because of the sport’s history here and the fact the national teams are located here [Langford], rugby was omnipresent. It is going to be a special experience, with friends and family in the stands, and hopefully a career experience on the pitch because it’s been a dream to play in the Olympics,” said De Goede.
The all-rounder, who captained sa国际传媒 to fourth place in the 2022 World Cup in XVs rugby last year and became a finalist for 2022 world player of the year, has displayed her versatility in being named also to the sevens team for the Paris Olympics qualifier. She is among seven players named who also have played for sa国际传媒 in XVs.
“I won two sa国际传媒 high school championships in sevens at Oak Bay and I love the balance and flexibility both the sevens and XVs versions of the sport give me,” De Goede told the sa国际传媒 on Monday.
It has also given her insights as to how the two versions differ: “XVs is a territorial game. Sevens is a possession game, where you can score from anywhere on the pitch, but you need to have the ball in order to do that.”
Speed is valued above all in sevens. But the platform and build-up begins with the ball winners. As a No. 8 in XVs, De Goede knows what she lacks in speed she makes up for in her ability to gain possession: “My job is to win and keep possession and to distribute the ball to the speedsters who can score.”
De Goede, Bermudez and Scurfield with join three veterans of the Tokyo Olympics team — captain Olivia Apps, Breanne Nicholas and Julia Greenshields. Also named for the qualifier are Justine Pelletier, Florence Symonds, Alysha Corrigan, Asia Hogan Rochester, Maddy Grant and Chloe Daniels.
The Canadian women open the qualifier against Mexico on Saturday at 11:36 a.m., followed by games against St. Lucia at 2:20 p.m. and Jamaica at 5:26 p.m. Pool play for sa国际传媒 concludes on Sunday against St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 2:14 p.m. The top two teams following group play will advance to the gold-medal final Sunday with the winner securing a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
This is the first time the Canadian women have had to play in the regional Olympic qualifier after having advanced directly to the 2016 Rio Olympics, where the team won the bronze medal, and 2020 Tokyo Olympics by placing in the top four of the previous year’s World Series standings.
“This has been a date on our minds and marked in our calendars for months,” Canadian head coach Jack Hanratty said in a statement.
“We pride ourselves in being an Olympic program and Paris is where we want to be next summer. Our goal is to punch our ticket there at Starlight Stadium.”
The U.S. has already qualified for the Paris Games by placing in the top four of the World Series and so will not be competing at Starlight Stadium, which is a massive break for sa国际传媒, and leaves the hosts as the clear favourites.
On the men’s side, captain Phil Berna, Cooper Coats and Josiah Morra, played in the previous Olympic qualifier on the Cayman Islands in 2019, out of which sa国际传媒 qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by beating Jamaica in the final.
“We’ve had this date circled on our calendar for over a year now. To host it in front of our home crowd, family and friends is going to be special. We’re ready to take the challenge head-on,” said Canadian men’s head coach Sean White of Victoria, a former national team player.
Named to the Canadian team by White are Berna, Coats, Morra, Kratz, Carson, Oworu, Alex Russell, Brock Webster, David Richard, Thomas Isherwood, Kal Sager and Elias Hancock.
The Canadian men open Saturday against St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 10:52 a.m. and play Barbados at 1:58 p.m. and Jamaica at 4:42 p.m. The top-two teams from the two men’s groups will play in the semifinals Sunday. The semifinal survivors go to the final with the winner earning a berth into the Paris Olympics.
The U.S., which qualified automatically for Tokyo 2020 as a top-four World Series nation and so was not at the last qualifier in the Cayman Islands, is in the other group as the Americans and Canadians appear headed for a finals showdown Sunday.
