The qualifying window for the 2024 Paris Olympics is now open in several sports. The Langford-based Canadian men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams began their qualifying process for Paris 2024 by going 1-2 on the opening day of the Dubai Sevens on Friday.
The top four men’s and women’s teams in the 2022-23 HSBC World Series season will qualify for Paris 2024 with rest of the national teams having to go through regional qualifiers next year and a last-chance world qualifier.
The Canadian women opened in Dubai with a 12-7 loss to a U.S. team that it will eventually likely need to beat at some point on the road to Paris. Veteran Bianca Farella scored the Canadian try. That was followed by a 33-0 loss to Australia and a 26-10 victory over China as veteran Charity Williams, returning from a near year-long injury, scored two tries and University of Victoria Vikes star Krissy Scurfield one try.
Canada was set to meet Brazil on the consolation side.
The Canadian men, under new head coach Sean White of Victoria, opened with a 19-14 loss to the U.S. before being downed 33-5 by Samoa. The Canadians rallied to finish the day with a 28-14 victory over Japan. Phil Berna, Josiah Morra, Brock Webster, Jake Thiel and David Richard scored tries on the day for Canada with Morra leading the way with three and Berna with two.
Canada was to meet Kenya on the consolation side.
“Qualifying for the Olympics, and placing in the top-11 to remain on the World Series circuit, are the top priorities in order,” said White, in his first World Series tournament as head coach.
The Canadian men’s bench boss came out of Oak Bay High and the James Bay Athletic Association to earn 27 caps as a tenacious undersized player for Canada in XVs, including in the 2011 World Cup, and 32 caps in sevens, including at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and in winning gold medals at the 2011 Guadalajara and 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games.
White replaced Henry Paul as interim head coach last month. Paul departed the position after guiding Canada to the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics last year and the quarter-finals of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games this year.
A youthful group of players, several from the Island, have inherited the roster spots from retired veterans Connor Braid of Victoria, former UVic Vikes star Nathan Hirayama and Harry Jones who played in the Tokyo Olympics.
“The future is bright for this young developing side and I look forward to watching the game we all love continue to flourish in Canada,” said Paul.
That job, at least in the interim, has fallen to White, who stepped up after being assistant coach to Paul.
“A lot of it comes down to preparation,” said White. “My motto is be prepared as coach and get the players prepared.”
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
