Own the Podium is the official name of a national funding program but it also describes the literal recent accomplishments of Canadian women’s national teams.
They have owned more than a few podiums, from the Langford-based rugby sevens team’s bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics to the Olympic soccer gold medal and softball bronze won by infielder Emma Entzminger of Victoria last summer in Tokyo to the hockey gold medal captured this year by blueliner Micah Zandee-Hart of Saanichton and her sa国际传媒 teammates in the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
The Canadian rugby XVs team, captained by Sophie De Goede of Victoria, hopes to join the podium party at the women’s World Cup from Oct. 8 to Nov. 12 in New Zealand. Ranked No. 4 in the world, sa国际传媒 appears poised at the edge of the podium. The national side will get an idea of where it truly stands during two pre-World Cup Tests matches, the first of which is today against No. 6 Italy at 3 p.m. at Starlight Stadium in Langford, followed by the other at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, N.S., on Aug. 27 against No. 9 Wales.
Today is the first Test match for the Canadian women on home soil in seven years.
“This is a huge country and our first time together in a long time and these games are very special for the players,” said Canadian head coach Kevin Rouet.
“It’s an opportunity to build those processes and connections between them. These two Tests are a good challenge for us.”
On the field will be about technical matters.
“These Tests will give us a good idea of where we stand in the world,” said scrum-half Brianna Miller.
Off the pitch will be more personal.
“I am one of the more emotional players and when we sing the national anthem in front of our home crowd it is going to be really special and something we have not done for a long time,” said Miller.
The World Cup was original scheduled for 2021 but postponed to this year due to the pandemic.
“We are grateful to be playing again after two years. This is an incredible group of individuals th at has sacrificed and had to be adaptable after everything we have gone through as a group,” said Miller.
Veteran second-row player Tyson Beukeboom from Uxbridge, Ont., is out of Cowichan RFC and is the daughter of former NHLer and four-time Stanley Cup-champion Jeff Beukeboom and cousin to 32-time sa国际传媒-capped former UVic Vikes rugby player Brett Beukeboom, who played in the 2015 men’s World Cup.
“My dad always taught me to have fun in sports and love what you do and have a life-sport balance,” she said.
That journey has spanned 33 caps for the 31-year-old, who won silver with sa国际传媒 at the 2014 World Cup in France.
“I was in that last Test match played here seven years ago against the U.S. and so this is very exciting,” said Beukeboom.
“A No. 4 versus No. 6 match-up will really help us prepare for the World Cup. “We have to stay in our structure and be patient and wait for Italy to crack.”
Also with an impressive family pedigree, but at the other end of the age scale for international sport, is sa国际传媒’s emerging 23-year-old captain De Geode, the rugby and basketball double threat out of Oak Bay Secondary, who also starred in both sports at Queen’s University to be named top U Sports female athlete for 2021-22. Dad Hans De Goede is a Canadian rugby icon who came out of Vic High and James Bay Athletic Association to be named twice to the all-world XV and captained sa国际传媒 in the first men’s World Cup in 1987. Mom Stephanie White was captain in the first-ever Canadian women’s Test match in 1987, played in Victoria against the U.S., and was sa国际传媒 co-captain in the 1991 World Cup and captain in the 1994 World Cup. Brother Thyssen De Goede was capped for sa国际传媒 in XVs and played in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games in sevens.
“It’s so cool for me to be home … and I’m so excited to be playing in front of my parents, brothers, aunts, uncles and friends,” said Sophie De Goede.
As for the technical portion of today, De Goede added: “Italy is fully contracted and trains in a professional environment and is moving up in the world. We have to realize we don’t have to score in the first phase every time, and be patient, and build our phases.”
Among the starters today for sa国际传媒 will be De Goede, Beukeboom, Miller, former UVic Vikes player Paige Farries out of Westshore RFC and Tokyo sevens Olympian Elissa Alarie from Westshore RFC.
