Although they have never before played in this province鈥檚 showcase sporting edifice, the Canadian players say there is a distinct feeling of home-field advantage to the sa国际传媒 Sevens rugby tournament Saturday and Sunday at sa国际传媒 Place.
鈥淢ost of the national team is from the Island or Lower Mainland, so this is going to be very special for us,鈥� said Pat Kay of Duncan, who at 22, is an emerging player to watch for sa国际传媒.
Especially with the lower bowl sold out at 28,000 fans each day for the first World Series event ever held in this country, necessitating the release of 5,000 upper bowl tickets.
鈥淚t really feels like home. Spirits are high,鈥� said Kay.
Not that the players, based at the Rugby sa国际传媒 Centre of Excellence in Langford, don鈥檛 already spend a lot of time in the province. But that鈥檚 in training, which is done in relative obscurity at Westhills Stadium. This is different.
鈥淭here are a lot of distractions being the host team in Vancouver,鈥� admitted Kay, a graduate of Cowichan High School.
鈥淲e have a team psychologist who helps us stay focused on the task. But we鈥檙e also enjoying it. You don鈥檛 want to miss anything because this opportunity hasn鈥檛 happened before at home in the World Series.鈥�
It has only occurred once before in men鈥檚 sevens. That, however, was not in the World Series but in the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games. That home-province feel the Ontario players felt last year at BMO Field, the sa国际传媒 players get to experience Saturday and Sunday at sa国际传媒 Place.
But while sa国际传媒 won Pan Am Games gold in Toronto, it lost to the rising U.S. in the separate North America and Caribbean qualifying tournament for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. So all roads this year for sa国际传媒 lead to the last-chance Olympic qualifier for Rio from June 18-19 in Monaco, where the 12th and final berth into the 2016 Olympic Games will be decided.
鈥淸National team head coach Liam Middleton from Bear Mountain] tells us: 鈥楤e the Olympian before you are the Olympian,鈥� 鈥� said Kay.
鈥淭hat means to do everything with an Olympian鈥檚 attitude and mindset. We can鈥檛 just show up in Monaco. We have to build to it properly with the right attitude, training and results.鈥�
That process continues through the remaining World Series tournaments April 8-10 in Hong Kong, April 16-17 in Singapore, May 14-15 in Paris and May 20-22 in London.
The sa国际传媒 Sevens, meanwhile, opens Saturday with South Africa playing Scotland at 9:30 a.m. Sevens rugby is a colourful, cacophonous and swirling sporting carnival as the 14-minute games follow each other in rapid succession. sa国际传媒 is in Group B and opens Saturday at 12:04 p.m. against Wales. The Canucks meet the Rio Olympics-favoured Aussies at 3:40 p.m. followed by the closing group match against Russia at 7:28 p.m. The medal and consolation rounds begin Sunday at 9:40 a.m. through to the championship game at 6 p.m.
The Langford-based Canadian women鈥檚 team, meanwhile, is No. 2 in the world and has qualified for the Rio Olympics. It will host the sa国际传媒 Sevens at Westhills Stadium on April 16-17.
