Canadian women sacrifice for cause en route to semis
Athletes put day jobs aside, fundraise to pay the bills, bringing them closer
Canada has lived up to its ranking of third in the world by making the final four at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, with No. 1 England awaiting it in the semifinal this weekend.
The Canadian women have got there the hard way, putting day jobs aside and fundraising to pay bills while England players are on professional contracts from the Rugby Football Union, their governing body.
The Canadians say their commitment to the cause has only brought them closer, on and off the field.
“A lot of the girls have sacrificed so much throughout the summer in terms of coming together and centralizing in order to give ourselves the best opportunity (to win),” said Canadian prop Brit Kassil. “And it’s really shining through based on how we’re playing right now.
“We’re having a lot of success because we have those connections that we’ve grown and continue to blossom throughout the last four months.”
Many of the Canadian women decided to centralize ahead of the World Cup after returning from the World Rugby Pacific Four Series in June in New Zealand.
The 31-year-old Kassil, a full-time firefighter in her hometown of Guelph did not join them. She continued to work between July 24 and Aug. 27 home test matches against Italy and Wales.
She stacked her vacation days and swapped 24-hour shifts with colleagues to be able to take time off for rugby starting in early September.
With the sport shelved at home during the pandemic, some of the Canadian women moved abroad to play club rugby in England and France.
Some put their work careers on hold while others trained around their day jobs.
Hooker Gillian Boag is an engineer who scaled back to part-time ahead of the tournament and is currently on leave. Lock Tyson Beukeboom, a counsellor for at-risk kids, has done the same.
Prop Olivia DeMerchant has been working to start a firefighting career, missing out on some time with the team to do required testing.
Coach Kevin Rouet and flanker Karen Paquin both quit engineering jobs years ago to focus on rugby.
The Canadian women are underdogs going into Friday night’s semifinal showdown with the Red Roses, who have won 29 straight since a 28-13 loss to New Zealand in July 2019.
England became the first country to offer full-time contracts to its women’s side in 2019, with players reportedly making between 26,000 and 33,000 pounds (about $39,875 and $50,610 Cdn) per year for their national team involvement.
France followed suit, as did New Zealand. The new Black Fern contracts, complete with medical and life insurance, reportedly are worth between 60,000 and 130,000 New Zealand dollars ($47,645 and $103,230 Cdn) annually.
In contrast, the Canadian women get a per diem and match fee at the World Cup, with performance bonuses linked to a top-three finish.
Rugby Canada essentially funds the program not the players, with support from the Canadian Rugby Foundation and additional donors, just like the men’s program.
The Canadian women started a GoFundMe page which raised almost $47,000 in advance of the World Cup. It was to help meet the costs of centralization.
Kassil grew playing hockey but decided to give rugby a shot at 15 or 16 while attending Guelph’s Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, at the urging of friends.
She went on to play for the University of Guelph Gryphons, joined the national team in 2017 and was part of the Canadian team that finished fifth at the World Cup that year.
England holds a 28-3-1 all-time edge over Canada. The Red Roses have won the past eight meetings, outscoring the Canadians 360-110, since a 52-17 loss in the Women’s Rugby Super Series in July 2016.
The Canadians are looking ahead rather than behind, however.
“Everyone’s really excited,” said Kassil. “The morale is high and we’re just really looking forward to the opportunity to beat them.”
‘‘ We’re having a lot of success because we have those connections that we’ve grown and continue to blossom throughout the last four months.
BRIT KASSIL CANADIAN PROP FROM GUELPH