Head coach Jack Hanratty describes it as a “new franchise.”
A lot has changed since the Canadian women’s team won the bronze medal in rugby sevens’ Olympic debut at Rio 2016. The national side plunged to ninth place last summer in the Tokyo Olympics and is in a rebuild as it hosts the HSBC World Series Canada Sevens on Saturday and Sunday at Starlight Stadium.
“We are a rebuilding, young side, and we know that,” said Hanratty, after a training session Thursday in Langford.
It is a youthful side that gets a big opportunity at home this weekend as Canada opens Saturday in Pool A at 11 a.m. against Spain followed by a 2 p.m. fixture against Mexico and a 6 p.m. game against HSBC World Series standings-leading Australia.
“Saturday night at home [underdog] against the best team in the world Australia. This is what dreams are made of … the sort of thing they make movies about,” said Hanratty.
“We are excited to show exactly where we are. The opportunity to play against the best teams in the world in front of a passionate Canadian crowd for this new, talented group of players is such an electrifying prospect.”
The hosts are certainly primed to take on the world’s elite in the 12-nation tournament.
“We are so eager to play this weekend and use the home crowd to our advantage in a tight-knit stadium,” said Canadian captain Breanne Nicholas.
“It has a really fun feel.”
And a familiar one, since the team is based in Langford, which is an added bonus.
“We train here day in and day out so this venue feels very natural to us,” said veteran-player Bianca Farella, one of the few remaining connections to the 2016 Rio Olympic-medallist squad.
“We’re looking forward to the fans and feeling the energy of the crowd.”
Canada is coming off the high of winning the Americas’ regional qualifying tournament last weekend in Nassau, Bahamas, to stamp its ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. The other big event this summer is the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
“We will look to continue the momentum from the qualifiers last weekend,” said Hanratty.
Because of lingering pandemic travel restrictions Down Under, this will be the first HSBC World Series tournament of the season for defending Tokyo Olympic-champion New Zealand.
“This is the best field of teams gathered since the Olympic Games last summer in Tokyo and will be a real test for us against the best core teams in the world,” said Hanratty.
“The [Americas regional qualifier] was exciting, but what we want to know is where we fit in the world.”
The Canadian team has been through a tumultuous time after a review looked into complaints from some players about the alleged previous training culture in Langford.
“The team culture is the best it’s ever been,” said captain Nicholas.
“We are looking forward from here.”
Added Olympic-medallist Farella: “We’re happy with the progress made and feel we are now out on the other side of it.”
The 2022 Canada Sevens, the first staged since pre-pandemic in 2019, opens at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the U.S. kicking off against Tokyo Olympic bronze-medallist Fiji. The 14-minute games run in rapid succession all day. The top-two teams from each of the three pools, along with the top-two third-place teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.
The medal rounds, beginning with the quarter-finals, run all day Sunday through to the final at 5 p.m.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
