Williams Lake Kayla Moleschi and her Canada Women’s Rugby Sevens teammates all but secured their berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics after finishing in second place at the London Sevens during the weekend.
Canada dropped a nail-biting Cup Final to Australia, 20-17, to pick up the silver medal.
Moleschi scored two tries in the final while teammate Ghislaine Landry added the other.
A win would have given Canada its first-ever series Cup trophy.
Moleschi, the lone B.C. player on Canada’s roster, helped set the pace early on day one scoring multiple tries to give Canada commanding wins over Russia, South Africa and England.
Day two saw Canada defeat Russia, 26-5, in the Cup quarterfinal, before edging the U.S., 17-14, in the semifinal.
With the cup win, Australia moved ahead of Canada for second place in the series standings based on a tie-breaker formula as both teams have amassed 76 points on the season.
As the top four teams qualify automatically for the Olympics, Canada is sitting pretty with just one event left, next week in Amsterdam.
“We did play some really good rugby over this tournament and I’m really proud of the response of this team after our finish [sixth] in Langord, B.C.,” said head coach John Tait.
“It is hard not to be disappointed with our finish against Australia in the final because the game was there for us to take.
“A big focus going into Amsterdam will be all about managing a lead and the clock better as a team.”
He said the points they took during the weekend will go a long way in solidifying the Olympic berth.
“[They] give us solid cushion between those chasing the last qualifying spot so now, hopefully, a little less pressure on the group and we can look to build on this weekend and have another go at finishing the series with a Cup win,” he said.
