There鈥檚 always a sort of calm, and sense of acceptance, in the year following an Olympics.
The captains of the three women鈥檚 rugby sevens podium teams from the 2016 Rio Summer Games reflected on their journeys Thursday, before renewing on-field rivalries in the sa国际传媒 Sevens on Saturday and Sunday at Westhills Stadium in Langford. It is the fifth of six stops on the 2017 HSBC World Series.
鈥淟ast year was really intense. Building up to the Olympics, the pressure was on,鈥� said Canadian captain Ghislaine Landry.
That can take a toll, and more emotionally than physically.
鈥淭here is a lighter frame of mind this year and I am having more fun playing than I have ever had,鈥� said Toronto鈥檚 Landry, based in Greater Victoria with the national team.
But there remains the pressure for sa国际传媒 to perform at Westhills, especially after the disappointing fifth- and sixth-place sa国际传媒 Sevens finishes the past two years.
鈥淭his weekend is going to be special because our fans were so much a part of our journey [to the Rio Olympics bronze medal], and we picked up a lot of new fans for Canadian rugby because of the Olympics and the medal,鈥� said Landry.
鈥淲e learned from those [sa国际传媒 Sevens] experiences the last two years at home 鈥� that sevens rugby can be so unpredictable and cruel.鈥�
Australian captain Sharni Williams said she still almost can鈥檛 believe she gets to call herself an Olympic champion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the pinnacle of sport 鈥� it鈥檚 surreal still to me,鈥� she said of winning the inaugural women鈥檚 gold medal as rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at Rio.
鈥淚t鈥檚 changed women鈥檚 sport in Australia and changed our lives. They even made us OAMs [Order of Australia members]. We have left a pathway for girls to follow in rugby. We never had [female] role models in rugby. Now we are the role models.鈥�
It won鈥檛 be long until Australia steps onto the pitch at another multi-sport event, this time as host, when women鈥檚 sevens makes its debut in the 2018 Commonwealth Games next April in Gold Coast. 鈥淲e are building to the Commonwealth Games. It will be big for us because we are hosting and it will be a first for our sport in the Games,鈥� said Williams, who hails from tiny Batlow, New South Wales.
The post-Olympics acceptance theme is represented by New Zealand, who went into Rio as the favourites but came away with the silver medal behind their great rival Aussies.
鈥淲e fell one step short of our goal 鈥� and were upset and gutted at the time 鈥� but the silver medal is still an incredible achievement and we are very proud of it,鈥� Kiwi captain Tyla Nathan-Wong said.
鈥淭he whole Olympic experience was another step up and something I will never forget. I remember seeing Michael Phelps and Serena Williams in Rio and thinking: 鈥楬ere I am on the same stage as them.鈥� We will look forward now to the Commonwealth Games and going across the ditch [Tasman Sea] to Gold Coast.鈥�
But not before the 2017 World Series is completed.
鈥淲e love being in Victoria and playing in Langford 鈥� the crowds here are insane,鈥� said Nathan-Wong, from Auckland, but who will have her own cheering section at Westhills Stadium because of family in Greater Victoria.
For Brazilian captain Luiza Campos, it is the calm after the sporting storm as her country strained to host the 2014 men鈥檚 soccer World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics back-to-back.
Brazilian athletes will leave the politics and finances of that for others to discuss. Their job was solely on the field of play.
鈥淚t was an amazing experience to be playing in front of family and friends at home in an Olympics,鈥� said Campos. 鈥淭here is more investment in rugby sevens now in Brazil because of it and the sport is growing with a lot more teams, and that is directly a result of the Olympics.鈥�
The 2017 HSBC World Series championship is still up for grabs with New Zealand leading with 76 points after the first four tournaments in Dubai, Sydney, Las Vegas and Kitakyushu, Japan. The final tournament will be June 24-25 in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Australia sits in second place with 66 points, sa国际传媒 third with 64, Fiji fourth with 50 and Russia rounding out the top five with 46.
