Samson set for emotional Super Series after dad’s death
Maria Samson stood with her Canadian women’s rugby teammates as they received their silver medals at the World Cup last summer in Paris. It was an emotional moment. All total, she has played 19 times for the national team. They were all special moments. But Saturday at Calgary Rugby Park when she suits up for Canada’s opening game of the Women’s Rugby Super Series against New Zealand ( 6: 30 p. m.), it might be the most emotional game the 32- yearold lock has ever played.
Her father Wojciech died on May 29 after long battling Lewy Body dementia.
“This weekend for me, there’s going to be times where it’s going to be tough and I know that,” she said. “I’ve had past players from both the men’s and women’s team reach out to me and say ‘ have a stormer for your dad looking down.’
“That definitely hits home and I have to be sure that I can control my emotions and make sure that I don’t go into a tailspin — make sure all my thoughts about my dad are driving me forward and being positive. He would be proud of my performance. It can’t be an emotional one.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of heart behind it,” she concluded. “If I get on the field I know it’s going to be a powerful performance.”
Samson notes her drive comes from her father, who used to be a high- level rower in Poland, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Olympics.
“He had a tremendous effect on my athletic career, having been a national team athlete himself,” she explained. “Growing up on the farm with him as a father, he was very much ( about) ‘ it’s not necessarily how much effort you put in, but it’s the result.’ And so doing your best has to produce some type of result.
“That’s very performance- based, which probably led me to where I am today — making sure you perform. That means putting in 100% effort, but 100% effort into the right things.”
Saturday’s contest will also be a watermark moment in her career because it’s her first time playing with Team Canada in front of a home crowd.
“There are people who have never seen me play before. I have colleagues who are coming out, people who I train with at the gym from other sporting backgrounds ... so it will be really neat for them to see this calibre of game played.”
It also means a lot for her to even play in the event at all after suffering a serious knee injury in February, which required surgery. By May, her hard work in rehabilitating paid off; an article on the Rugby Canada website reports that a national team assessor couldn’t even tell which knee was injured.
Samson is one of 13 returning players from the World Cup team last summer, which helps lend experience to the newcomers, but she insists they’re all learning together.
“I think part of that is the same thing might not actually work that worked for us last time,” she said. "We have to be open to new systems and structures. We still want to be recognized as a very fast- paced, fit, aggressive team, but there’s going to be some evolution that happens and this is kind of the starting block for that.
“One of the big things after the World Cup is what’s next? What’s our new identity going forward because we can’t always live off the success of the World Cup finish we had.
“What legacy do we want to leave in this Super Series?”
World Cup champion England will kick off the Saturday matches against Team USA ( 4 p. m.) before No. 2- ranked Canada faces No. 5- ranked New Zealand.
IN THE SCRUM ... Laura Russell of Bolton, Ont. was named Canada’s captain on Thursday ... Vulcan’s DaLeaka Menin is also on the team ... The Super Series will be streamed live at www.livestream.com/rugbycanadaofficial. As will the Canadian Rugby Championship, which will run on Sunday and July 1 at Calgary Rugby Park. Maria Samson’s husband Mozac Samson will suit up for the Calgarybased Prairie Wolfpack in one semifinal against the B. C. Bears ( 3 p. m.), while the Ontario Blues and Atlantic Rock meet in the other one ( 1 p. m.). “I’m very excited that I get to see him play,” Maria said. “He’s been training so hard for this. The Wolfpack is foaming at the mouth to win the national championship.” ... The Super Series will continue in Red Deer on July 1 ( New Zealand vs. England; Canada vs. USA) before concluding in Edmonton on July 5 ( New Zealand vs. USA; Canada vs. England).