When the 2015-16 HSBC Women’s Sevens Series (WSWS) gets underway in Dubai next weekend, there will be some new faces in Canada’s Women’s Sevens Squad, but there will also be a handful of familiar names in elevated roles.
In part that’s due to the Canadian program’s commitment to developing new players every season. But an bigger factor this time around is the laundry list of injuries to some of Canada’s series regulars: Ashley Steacy, Hannah Darling, Natasha Watcham-Roy, Bianca Farella, Sara Kaljuvee, Elissa Alarie, and Nadia Popov are all unavailable due to various ailments.
That’s a group of seven that would be a dangerous team all on its own, but Canada still have the depth to contend for a Cup title in Dubai.
Let’s take a look at some of the players who will be suiting up when the tournament gets rolling December 3.
Dubai 7s: Canada’s Women’s Sevens Squad
Jen Kish (captain)
You may as well chuck out the Big Book of Rugby Superlatives when talking about Kish—they’ve all been used to describe the Canadian captain. One of the best athletes on the WSWS, she can do everything at top speed on the pitch and is influential in every match. And just to top things off, she has mad social media game. Kish is the face of Canadian women’s sevens.
Britt Benn
Benn exploded into the top level of Canadian rugby in 2014, debuting for both the XVs and sevens teams, and in short order has cemented herself as a regular on the WSWS. A solid tackler in defense and deceptively evasive on attack, Benn has become more savvy with ball in hand, getting isolated less frequently and choosing better times to straighten the defensive line.
Kelly Russell
If you had to choose one player for the title of Canada’s enforcer, Russell would be a leading candidate. A big, punishing tackler, Russell is a rock at the breakdown, takes the ball hard into contact, and is a fixture in the scrum. Just don’t expect to notice her much on an individual basis; she’ll likely be too busy doing the hard jobs that open up space for her teammates.
Caroline Crossley
One of two players making her WSWS debut, the scouting report on Crossley marks her as a player who looks after the ball and has a high work rate—two things that will endear any player to her coach. And while that may not sound like the kind of dynamic player typically associated with sevens, it puts the 17-year-old prodigy in good stead for a long stay on the sevens circuit.
Megan Lukan
The second of the WSWS debutantes, Lukan has been on the Rugby Canada radar since she was in high school, but committed to the NCAA basketball program at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. After graduating from UWGB, Lukan was lured west to the Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence for a six-month trial as a carded athlete. Her natural attacking skills were evident earlier this month at the Central Coast Sevens, where she improved visibly in every game.
Ghislaine Landry
The leading point-scorer in WSWS history with 402, Landry may be Canada’s most important player aside from Jen Kish. Though she may not look like a prototypical speed winger, Landry is lightning fast and considered by teammates to be one of the best pure athletes in the squad. She also takes a lot of Canada’s conversions.
Magali Harvey
It was clear when she was named 2014 IRB Women’s Player of the Year that Harvey, an exceptional attacking weapon for the Canadian XVs, had the raw skills to be a star in sevens. Transitioning to the abbreviated game proved a challenge for her, however, and she temporarily lost the trust of sevens coach John Tait and the selection team. Harvey has stepped up, however, and in under a year established herself as a key member of the Canadian sevens program. She kicks, restarts and conversions, plays sweeper, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye.
Karen Paquin
Paquin looks like a XVs back-row and does a lot of the grunt work for her squad, but has the ability to transition suddenly from stout defender to fearsome attacker when there’s space to attack. In fact, she seems to catch opposition defenders off guard, especially when they get too focused on Canada’s other threats such as Ghislaine Landry or Magali Harvey. At top speed Paquin could well be one of the fastest players on tour.
Canada’s Dubai Sevens Schedule:
Day 1:
Canada vs. Fiji — 3:20am ET, 12:20 am PT
Canada vs. Ireland — 6:16am ET, 3:16am PT
Canada vs. USA 9:13am ET, 6:13am PT
Day 2:
TBD
