There has been griping in the recent past by some Canadian national team athletes about perceived lack of support from their national federations. The best opportunity for national sides to advance in world competitions is by hosting events and several federations have provided that, but the athletes came through with mixed results.
Andrew Wiggins and the Canadian men’s basketball team fell short on Blanshard Street in the Tokyo Olympics qualifier at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, and Christine Sinclair and the national women’s soccer team in the 2015 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals at sa国际传媒 Place. The pressure will be immense, but so will the opportunity, for Alphonso Davies and co-host sa国际传媒 in the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup.
This weekend, the ball is in the hands of Rugby sa国际传媒 as it has given its men’s and women’s national sevens team every advantage it can by bidding and the winning the right to host the North American and Caribbean qualifier, today and Sunday at Starlight Stadium in Langford, for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Now it’s up to the players.
“This is the biggest tournament, with the Olympics on the line, that I have been a part of and home-field advantage is massive for us,” said Canadian men’s team player Lachlan Kratz of Victoria.
The Canadian coaches, Sean White and assistant Phil Mack, both from Victoria, didn’t qualify as players for the 2016 Rio Olympics before retiring. They can now live through their players, but it is as much a mind game as a physical one.
“Let’s not make it bigger than it is,” said White.
“Every team is coming in with Olympic dreams. But it’s still a couple of rugby games and you get a cool thing at the end of it. Let’s just go out and do our jobs.”
Canadian player Jack Carson of Victoria concurred that nobody on the Canadian team can afford to look ahead to the anticipated finals showdown Sunday against superstar Perry Baker and the U.S., a match-up between two top-12 World Series teams.
“It’s about concentrating on the basics for each game we play — execution, structure and playing smart rugby,” said the Oak Bay High graduate.
Captain Phil Berna, Cooper Coats and Josiah Morra are the only three Canadian players who were 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. 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 this one at Starlight Stadium as the Americans and Canadians appear headed for their inevitable showdown.
The Canadian men open today 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 on Sunday. The semifinal survivors go to the final, with the winner earning a berth in the Paris Olympics. The second- and third-place teams will earn berths into the world at-large, last-chance qualifier next June at a venue to be determined.
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.
“That legacy piece, of having qualified for both Olympics since rugby’s introduction into the Games, is important to us,” said Canadian women’s team captain Olivia Apps.
The U.S. has already qualified for the Paris Olympics by placing in the top four of the World Series and so will not be competing at Starlight Stadium, which is a huge break for sa国际传媒, and leaves the hosts as the clear favourites. “We have been building as a group and are anxious to show our home supporters what we’ve got,” said Canadian team player and University of Victoria Vikes star Krissy Scurfield.
Canadian teammate Alysha Corrigan concurred: “The home crowd is going to be huge for us and is an incredible advantage. It’s going to feel electric.”
The Canadian women open the qualifier against Mexico today 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 on Sunday with the winner securing a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The second- and third-placers will earn spots in next year’s Olympic last-chance world qualifier.
“It’s about sticking to the script and remaining humble while challenging ourselves,” said Julia Greenshields, one of three remaining Tokyo Olympians on the Canadian team, along with the captain Apps and Breanne Nicholas.
“We want team play with 12 players and not individual play.”
sa国际传媒 readied for the Olympic qualifier by playing eight unannounced games behind closed doors with Paris-qualified and world No. 2 Australia at UVic and Shawnigan Lake School, going 1-7 against the powerhouse Aussies, but winning the final game.
“Playing the Aussies eight times in two weeks was huge for us and gave us good confidence coming into our Olympic qualifier,” said Corrigan, a native of Charlottetown, PEI, who has come rock to rock across the country to be a part of the national team. “We feel prepared and excited.”
