The Esquimalt High School rugby players didn’t understand Portuguese. But they understood the international language of rugby as the Brazilian women’s sevens national team put on a clinic Wednesday at the school.
All of the national sides who have gathered on the Island for the 2019 Canada Sevens, set for Saturday and Sunday at Westhills Stadium, are taking part in school visits this week. France was at Spencer Middle School, Australia at Central Middle School, New Zealand at Shoreline, England at Vic High, Ireland at Edward Milne, Russia at SMUS, Fiji at Glanford, China at Spectrum and the U.S. at Belmont. The Canadian players visited Ruth King Elementary.
The interest among student-athletes at Esquimalt, which this season won the B.C. girls’ junior high sevens championship and the provincial boys’ senior Tier II title, was especially keen.
Esquimalt High offers a rugby academy and the results have been there on the field for all to see.
“Rugby is built into the timetable for these students and they work hard at both school and sports,” said Esquimalt High’s rugby academy director David Moonlight, an all-time Canadian men’s sevens great.
This is the fifth year for the Canada Sevens stop in Langford as part of the women’s World Series circuit. Grade 10 star player Delaney Woods, captain of the provincial-champion Esquimalt junior girls’ squad and also co-captain of the senior team with Maggie Swan, has watched the Canada Sevens at Westhills every year and been inspired by it.
Asked who is her favourite player of the 2016 Olympic bronze-medallist Canadian team, Woods didn’t hesitate in citing Bianca Farella.
“I like everything about the way Bianca plays and she has so many different aspects to her game and she is not one dimensional,” said Woods, the daughter of former James Bay and Canadian national team player Tom Woods.
Most of all, Delaney Woods loves the sport itself: “I like the rough and tumble of rugby and getting your emotions out. But more than that, this game is about respecting your opponents.”
Brazilian captain, Raquel Kochhann, touched on the same themes: “Rugby is not so famous in Brazil but we aim to show Brazilians how great rugby can be. We want to create awareness for a sport, that more than any other sport, teaches values and is all about respect.”
A big step came in hosting the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, where sevens made its Olympic debut. But Brazil must earn its way into Tokyo 2020. That opportunity comes this summer during the South American Olympic qualifier to be held in Lima, Peru. The Brazilians will use the Canada Sevens at Westhills as key preparation for their qualifier.
Brazil was not a core World Series team this year — Langford will be its first tournament of the season — but it won the recent intake tournament in Hong Kong and will be a core team for the 2020 World Series.
Kochhann epitomizes the feisty Brazilian squad’s ethic and what being a captain is all about: “I am not super talented but I work hard. If the other players see how hard I work, they will follow my example and do the same.”
The Brazilian team is guided by head coach Reuben Samuel of New Zealand, a nation that knows a thing or two about rugby.
Canada, meanwhile, is second behind the Kiwis in the overall World Series standings, out of which the top-four teams at the end of the season will qualify directly for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics without having to go through regional qualifiers. The Canada Sevens is the fifth of six 2019 World Series tournaments and the hosts are looking to clinch their berth for Tokyo this weekend on their home Westhills turf.
