Rugby Canada Women’s 7s Atlanta Review

It was yet another third-place finish for Canada’s women in Atlanta this weekend. That’s now six in a row on the Women’s Sevens World Series, stretching back to the tail end of last year’s tour. This time, however, third place somehow felt like progress.

Rugby Canada Women’s 7s Review: Atlanta

Maybe it’s because the team overcame what could have been a lineup-crippling injury. Maybe it’s because they once again proved that it’s only a matter of time before they topple the most dominant team on the circuit. Maybe it’s because all these third place finishes have added up to a tie for second place on the overall table, bringing Olympic qualification that much closer.

Whatever the case, when captain Jen Kish went down with injury in Canada’s second match of Day 1, it could have set the stage for a nightmare weekend. While things were firmly in hand as Canada chalked up wins over series minnows Brazil and China, the team had nevertheless lost a hugely influential leader, and a player with tremendous skill in every aspect of the sevens game.

“Losing [her] is tough,” said Canada’s head coach, John Tait. “She is by far our biggest threat for creating turnovers off opponents and she has been really doing well on attack. We will need everyone to take a big step up and work better together to create the turnovers that Kish is able to create.”

When Canada were beaten handily by England in their third and final match of the pool stages, it looked like that “big step” might be too much, both emotionally and tactically.

But that simply wasn’t the case. The Canadians were resolute on Day 2, flexing their depth and class in the Cup quarterfinals to oust a tough French side by a convincing score of 24-12.

After that came a heartbreaking 24-22 loss in the semifinal to defending champions New Zealand—Canada were a hair’s breadth from sending the game to extra time when they scored a try at the death to pull within two points, but a tough conversion attempt by Mandy Marchak came up agonizingly short.

The loss surely left Canada mentally and physically drained, so there was some danger of a big letdown against a mercurial Russian side in the third-place game. Instead, Tait’s crew once again showed what they were made of, looking in control from beginning to end as they dispatched Russia 28-17.

For their efforts, Canada gained enough series points to pull even with Australia on the season’s overall table, no small achievement considering the quality of the Aussies.

Did the team use the Jen Kish injury as a rallying point? Or was their impressive weekend fuelled by professionalism and single-minded focus?

Maybe it was a bit of both, but in the end it doesn’t really matter; their performance over two tough days in Atlanta was worthy of a team which has its sights set on the podium at the Rio Olympics, and showed off the depth of talent in Canadian women’s rugby.

Ghislaine Landry had yet another phenomenal weekend, scoring 6 tries, racking up 52 points, and taking a well-earned place on the Atlanta “Dream Team.” Ashley Steacy was absolutely everywhere on the pitch, making tackle after tackle and leading a quick and powerful Canadian charge into both sides of the breakdown. Karen Paquin, always dangerous anyway, erupted when the games got tighter, galloping up and down the wings for two tries against Russia and leaving a tattoo of her shoulder on poor Ana Malygina’s sternum.

And the cherry on top was young Brittany Benn, who was making her Series debut. Though a little wild at times—overpursuing on defense and getting isolated on offense—Benn improved with every game and looked like a player on the cusp of making a permanent claim on a roster spot.

So in the end, although the results on paper may say that this was the same old story for Canada, somehow it feels like this team is forcibly changing the plot.

The Olympics are now only 18 months away, and if these Canadian women accomplish something very special in Rio, don’t be surprised if the 2015 tour stop in Atlanta is mentioned as the third-place finish that meant just a little bit more than all the others.