RUGBY STARS INSPIRE KIDS
Canada vies for World Cup
About 4,700 kilometres from Montreal, across the Atlantic Ocean, a group of 28 Canadian women are hoping to bring back the nation’s first gold medal in a sport that is often overlooked by most Canadians: rugby.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup for rugby fifteens — 15 players from each team on the field at a time — is taking place from Wednesday to Aug. 26 in Dublin and Belfast, Ireland. Rugby has been gaining steam over the past few years, especially with the inclusion of rugby sevens in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, where Canada won the bronze medal.
And if you ask Frédérique Rajotte and Alexandra Tessier, two of the 10 rookies on the team, the media attention has been intensifying as the competition approaches.
“I think it’s great to put rugby on a pedestal right now because it’s the pinnacle of all competitions,” said Rajotte, a winger. “Definitely the media attention is huge right now, and it’ll gain some steam getting closer to the actual games.”
Said Tessier, an outside centre: “Rugby players aren’t looking for that (recognition). It’s not part of the culture as much as, let’s say, a big sport in Canada like hockey or stuff like that. We don’t expect it, but it’s very nice to have it.”
Rajotte and Tessier, both 23, are roommates in Montreal and attend Concordia University, where they play on the Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team. Between eating, training and living together, they are about to share another important aspect of their lives by representing Canada at the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“I think we just complete each other,” Tessier said.
“It’s definitely huge to go through this process together,” Rajotte said.
Outside of Concordia, the women play for different rugby clubs during the summer. Tessier, who is from Ste-Clotilde-de-Horton near Drummondville, plays for the Montreal Barbarians Rugby Football Club. Rajotte, who hails from Montreal but grew up in Ontario, represents the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Football Club. Both clubs are part of Rugby Québec. Tessier and Rajotte play at the senior level.
As Tessier and Rajotte have gained international experience, they have become role models for players on their respective clubs.
“I was talking to a girl who’s maybe like four years younger than me, and she came up to me and was like, ‘I admire you so much,’ ” Rajotte said. “It’s so nice to hear that.”
Addison Thompson, an eightyear-old rugby player with the under-8 Montreal Barbarians, looks up to Tessier.
“(Tessier is) around the team, so Addison knows her,” said Jason Thompson, Addison’s father and Montreal Barbarians co-ordinator. “She’s getting to the age where she understands that, if you play for Canada, you’re a really good player.”
While eight years old might seem young, participation by younger players shows rugby is growing at the grassroots level.
“Kids are starting younger and younger and that was nonexistent when I started playing when I was 16,” Rajotte said.
Rugby Québec executive director Simon Fréchette said they have seen an overall increase in youth players between the ages of five and 12 during the past five to 10 years.
Lisa-Anne Lessard, co-ordinator of programs and development at Rugby Québec, added that more schools, CEGEPs and universities are offering rugby programs. This year, Rugby Québec implemented the Rookie Rugby program designed by Rugby Canada to introduce youth to the sport.
“Kids play flag rugby (non-contact) until they turn 13,” Lessard said. “Then they learn how to play rugby with contact.”
She believes that the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics encouraged a lot of kids to try rugby and said the World Cup should provide even more visibility for the game.
Megan Allard, a player with the U14 Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Football Club, said she will be travelling to Ireland with her family for the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Allard, 13, said she admires senior club players like Brianna Miller and Latoya Blackwood, who are also playing for Team Canada. And while she is not familiar with Rajotte, Allard said she will support her.
“I’ll cheer her on and the whole team on,” Allard said. “It’s inspiring to see girls from your own club at a worldwide level. It makes me think maybe I could play at that level one day.”
Rajotte said she is encouraged to see more girls and women tackling rugby head-on.
“We’re getting more girls involved and more women involved, which is so nice to see,” she said.
Tessier and Rajotte have both been named to the starting lineup for Wednesday’s inaugural match against Hong Kong. Not only will they be representing Canada, but they will also be representing their province and university, along with their teammates.
“It’s always special to represent your university and your province,” Tessier said.
“We’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives, so it’ll be nice to go through everything together, side by side,” Rajotte said.