Canadian women’s rugby team shines in Olympic debut
RIO DE JANEIRO – Jen Kish claimed Canada’s women rugby sevens squad struggled with nerves before their and their sport's Olympic debut. The results from their first two group stage games Saturday at Deodoro Stadium would suggest otherwise.
Ghislaine Landry scored Canada’s first try in Rio less than 30 seconds into their opening game and Natasha Watcham-Roy scored the last try just before time expired in a 45-0 win over Japan.
Administering a beatdown of that magnitude is not an easy feat in a game that spans 14 minutes. As rugby sevens was christened as an Olympic sport now the world can see what those in the know have known since the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series kicked off in 2012: Canada is for real.
The sevens iteration of rugby is played on the same field as the traditional 15-a-side game. The extra space makes for a more fast-paced, action-packed game and the Canadian team embodies the best it has to offer. They didn't wait long to show how their speed and skill contributes to their success.
“The pitch is great. It’s a big wide-open field that suits us. The atmosphere is already getting pretty good, it’s picking up,” said head coach John Tait.
The stadium was certainly rocking in the second game of the day when Canada took on the Brazilians. A small but loud contingent of fans cheered on the hosts, but their support would not make up for Brazil's underdog status.
Karen Paquin followed Landry’s lead and put Canada on the board with a try inside the first minute. Kish, the captain and face of the program, scored her first Olympic try a few minutes later as her team cruised to a 38-0 win.
“We had a lot of nerves, I’m not going to lie, going into this. You never know what to expect,” said Kish. “There was a lot of nerves but we channeled those nerves and as you can see we really performed.”
The return of Ashley Steacy gave the team a boost. Steacy has missed the entire season due to multiple knee injuries, but made her impact felt right away with a couple significant defensive plays.
Canada meets Great Britain in the final group stage game Sunday, which stands to be a little more tightly contested than the two games Saturday. The teams' pedigree is similar, with Canada coming into Rio ranked third and Great Britain right behind them in fourth, and they've had their battles in the Sevens Series over the years.
“Another familiar team," said Tait. "We’ve split results with them this season. They’re a big physical side and we’ll look to match that."
A win would result in a more favourable draw in the quarterfinals, to be played later Sunday, and provide a clearer path to the podium. Australia and New Zealand are ranked first and second, respectively. The medal games are set for Monday.
While leaving Rio with one of those medals is absolutely Canada's main objective at the Games, they did allow themselves on this historic day to look at the big-picture. Playing at the Olympics will bring a new level of exposure to rugby sevens. Bringing hardware back home would go a long way in garnering more attention, too.
"We're really proud to be trailblazers in the sport. The girls know how fast the game's growing and how much support they've drawn back in Canada over the last couple of years," said Tait. "They're really enthused about being leaders in the game."
And still nervous when they take the field, even though it sure didn't show Saturday.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
