Canadian women begin Olympic chase
A marquee fall today for rugby sees the Langford-based Canadian team open the 2018-19 World Series season at the USA Women’s Sevens in Glendale, Colorado, while notable B.C. men’s premiership XVs action animates Windsor Park and Juan de Fuca.
Olympic qualifying for Tokyo 2020 begins today as the 2016 Rio Summer Games bronze-medallist Canadian women’s sevens team opens in Colorado against Fiji, Ireland and France.
“Obviously, [Olympic qualifying] adds higher stakes,” said Canadian captain Ghislaine Landry.
“We’re just looking to perform, and the results and tallies will take care of themselves. The girls have been training really well [at Westhills Stadium].”
The six-tournament World Series, out of which the top-four teams will qualify directly to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, runs through Dubai next month, Sydney, Australia, in February, Japan Sevens in April, Canada Sevens on May 11-12 in Langford and the France Sevens in June at Paris.
Meanwhile, Westshore RFC (0-2) will celebrate 50 years with festivities surrounding the men’s B.C. Premiership game today at Juan de Fuca fields at 2:45 p.m. against Vancouver Rowing Club (2-1-1). The Westshore club, known for most of its existence and based in Gordon Head as the Velox Valhallians, was formed in 1968.
Across town in Oak Bay, the Castaway-Wanderers will host their featured home weekend with CW teams of all levels and genders playing up to the men’s Premiership fixture at 2:45 p.m. between undefeated CW (3-0) and defending champion UBCOB Ravens (1-2).
It’s a return to form for CW, which used to be a steady supplier of talent to the Canadian national team.
“We’re playing fast, aggressive rugby, and playing out wide with the ball, while also developing a defence that is being recognized around the league,” said Brent Johnston, manager of the CW organization.
“We want to be in that last game on May 5 [Rounsefell Cup B.C. Premiership championship game].” But first things first. “We want to measure ourselves [today] against the reigning provincial champions [Ravens],” said Johnston.
Meanwhile, the UVic Vikes (1-2) host the UBC Thunderbirds (4-1) in an all-varsity B.C. Premiership match at 2:30 p.m. at Wallace Field, while James Bay (1-1) is at Seattle (2-3).