Canada’s national women’s rugby sevens team said they could have gone a lot farther in the tournament at Westhills stadium over the weekend but proved they were still a great team.
The team reached the quarterfinals before suffering a tough loss against USA in a close game that ended 12-7.
Nevertheless, they dominated England with a 31-7 victory in the final game, finishing the tournament in fifth place at HSBC World Rugby Sevens stop in Langford.
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Player Charity Williams, who scored the sole try against USA, said she is confident her team will qualify for the 2020 Games in the final series tournament of the season, taking place next month in France.
“Mistakes happen, but we know how to win,” she said.
“We are one of the top teams in the world and nothing’s gonna stop us,” echoed Bianca Farella. Farella and Williams each scored twice against England. Julia Greenshields also scored a try in the team’s dominant final performance.
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Canada shutdown Spain in their second match of the day, which ended 31-0. Farella scored early, followed by two tries scored in quick succession by team captain Ghislaine Landry at the three and six-minute mark. Williams and Keyara Wardley each marked one try on the board.
Coach John Tait said the team will have to stay “confident” and “focused” for the last tournament. Keeping possession of the ball and maintaining their tough defense will be the key to success in the future, he said.
“We just had some unforced errors that good teams like the US and Australia can punish you for.”
He added, “I’m not disappointed with the game – I’m disappointed with the result, obviously.”
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Canada’s standing has slipped from its second place position that it earned after winning gold in the previous round of the World Rugby Sevens in a finals match against England.
New Zealand finished in first place in the tournament today, beating Australia 21-10 in the finals.
swikar.oli@goldstreamgazette.com
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