Canada defeat USA and England, lose to Australia on Day Two to seal third Place finish on second IRB Women’s Sevens World Series
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team beat England 10–0 Saturday to finish in third place at the Amsterdam Sevens. It was Canada’s fourth top-three finish in the Women’s Sevens World Series this season and the team will finish third place in the WSWS standings for the second straight year. Canada opened the day with a 28-19 win over USA in the Cup Quarterfinals but lost to Australia 17-0 in the Cup Semifinals.
CANADA 28-19 USA
(Starting seven vs USA: Elissa Alarie, Bianca Farella, Jen Kish, Ghislaine Landry, Kayla Moleschi, Karen Paquin and Kelly Russell)
It was a great start for Canada’s North American rivals as USA opened the scoring just 30 seconds into the match to stake an early 5-0 lead. Canada, who came into the match with a 5-0 record all-time versus the USA in the WSWS, slowly gained control of the match and put their foot forward.
Elissa Alarie got Canada on the board, breaking a tackle for a lengthy run to put her team up 7-5. Canadian Captain Jen Kish and Kelly Russell both added first half tries as Canada went into the break with a 21-7 lead.
Once again USA put the first points of the half up, as Jillion Potter made it a 21-12 match 2:35 in. However off the restart, Kish received the ball near the touchline and side-stepped one tackler, broke through the tackle of another player before side-stepping the last defender for an incredible individual effort that put the Canadians lead out of reach.
CANADA 0-17 AUSTRALIA
(Starting seven vs Australia: Elissa Alarie, Bianca Farella, Jen Kish, Ghislaine Landry, Kayla Moleschi, Karen Paquin and Kelly Russell)
Canada was unable to generate much on attack as they spent most of the match on the back foot holding off the Australians. With Canada being penalized at the breakdowns time and time again by the referee, Australia used that to their advantage, catching the Canadians on the counter attack. While Canada’s tackling was strong, there was simply too much continued pressure from their opponents throughout the match.
CANADA 10-0 ENGLAND
(Starting seven vs England: Elissa Alarie, Bianca Farella, Paige Farries, Sara Kaljuvee, Jen Kish, Mandy Marchak and Karen Paquin)
While Canada controlled much of the possession in the first half, it was a tightly contested opening seven minutes. England looked intimidating on attack, but wasted their scoring opportunities by forcing the extra ball.
With Canada benefiting greatly from an English forward pass, Bianca Farella broke free on the subsequent scrum for the first score of the match and Canada led 5-0 at half. Canada’s leading scorer on the season would add another try in the second half, her third of the tournament and 25th of the year.
DAY ONE
Canada 28-0 Brazil
Canada 21-5 Netherlands
Canada 5-10 England
DAY TWO
Canada 28-19 USA – Cup Quarterfinals
Canada 0-17 Australia – Cup Semifinals
Canada 10-0 England – Third Place match
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Roster for Amsterdam Sevens – Name, (Club) Hometown
Elissa Alarie – (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club) Trois-Rivieres, QC
Bianca Farella – (Town of Mount Royal RFC) Montreal, QC
Paige Farries – (Druid RFC) Red Deer, AB
Julia Greenshields – (Sarnia Saints) Sarnia, ON
Sara Kaljuvee – (Toronto Scottish RFC) Pickering, ON
Jennifer Kish – (Edmonton Rockers RFC) Edmonton, AB (Captain)
Ghislaine Landry – (Toronto Scottish RFC) Toronto, ON
Kayla Mack – (Wild Oats RFC) Saskatoon, SK
Mandy Marchak – (Capilano RFC) Winnipeg, MB
Kayla Moleschi – (Williams Lake Rustlers) Williams Lake, BC
Karen Paquin – (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC
Kelly Russell – (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Staff
Head Coach: John Tait
Assistant Coach: Sandro Fiorino
Performance Analyst: Ben Herring
Athletic Therapist: Sandeep Nandhra
Manager: Meaghan Howat
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team is proudly sponsored by Sport Canada and Own the Podium.
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