Canada Name Women’s Rugby 7s Team for July 28-30 Olympic Tournament
Canada have named their 13 athletes for Rugby 7s at the Olympics. Only the women’s team are representing, the men didn’t qualify. One of the big stories not mentioned in the official release is that Sophie de Goede tore her ACL in training and the injury took her out of the selection pool. On the good news front Carissa Norsten has recovered from her injury and was selected for the team.
It has been 3 years now since the turmoil of the post Covid Olympics, the 2020 Olympics held in 2021. That turmoil in the Canadian women’s 7s program sent shock waves through the rugby community, it took down John Tait and Jamie Cudmore who were in line to take leadership roles at Rugby Canada. John Tait would have been in Stephen Aboud’s spot as Director of Rugby and Jamie Cudmore would have been in Kingsley Jones’ spot as men’s XVs head coach. It’s Canadian rugby’s version of the butterfly effect.
There’s a core of new stars in the 2024 version of the team, players who were too young to be involved in the politics of 2021 and only four players remain who signed the complaint against John Tait. Young stars like Krissy Scurfield, Piper Logan, Carissa Norsten, Chloe Daniels, Fancy Bermudez are the future of the team.
The team only has to make the quarter-finals to exceed what the 2021 team accomplished, they then have to make the final four and win at least Bronze to duplicate what the Jen Kish led team of 2016 accomplished, coached by John Tait.
from Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada women’s rugby sevens athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes are:
Olivia Apps (Lindsay, Ont.) – #2
Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, Alta.) – #10
Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) – #3
Caroline Crossley (Victoria, B.C.) – #1
Chloe Daniels (Sutton, Ont.) – #5
Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, Ont.) – #4
Piper Logan (Calgary, Alta.) – #11
Carissa Norsten (Waldheim, Sask.) – #8
Krissy Scurfield (Canmore, Alta.) – #9
Florence Symonds (Vancouver, B.C.) – #7
Keyara Wardley (Vulcan, Alta.) – #12
Charity Williams (Toronto, Ont.) – #6
Taylor Perry (Oakville, Ont.) – Alternate (Travelling)
Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team qualified for Paris 2024 on home soil in Langford, B.C. last August at the 2023 Rugby Americas North Sevens regional qualification event, going undefeated and winning 53-0 over Mexico in the final.
The team opened the 2024 HSBC SVNS season in December 2023 with a fourth place performance in Dubai, beating Ireland in the quarterfinals and playing a tight match against New Zealand in the semifinals. They went on to play in the third place play-off at three more SVNS stops throughout the season, headlined by their bronze medal in front of a home crowd in Vancouver. They finished fourth in Los Angeles and ended the season ranked fourth in the world after a strong performance at the 2024 HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid that saw Canada beat New Zealand in pool play for the first time since 2016.
Charity Williams will make her third Olympic appearance. In her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Williams was a member of the team that won bronze. She competed at Tokyo 2020 alongside Olivia Apps and Keyara Wardley, who are each returning for a second Olympic appearance. Williams tied with teammate Krissy Scurfield as Canada’s leading try scorer this season on the HSBC SVNS Series, both with 20 tries.
Seven players (Caroline Crossley, Alysha Corrigan, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Chloe Daniels, Charity Williams, Carissa Norsten and Piper Logan) played for Team Canada at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games where they won the silver medal. Norsten, who made her senior debut with Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team in Santiago, will look to continue to impress internationally in her Olympic debut. Norsten was the 2022 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year and the 2024 HSBC SVNS Women’s Rookie of the Year.
The team will be captained by Olivia Apps, who made her SVNS Series debut in 2018. Apps has since represented Canada in 25 world series tournaments, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and two Rugby World Cup Sevens (2018 and 2022). The 25-year-old veteran has also made appearances with Canada’s women’s rugby (15s) team, including at the recent Pacific Four Series along with Fancy Bermudez, which Canada won for the first time with a historic victory over New Zealand.
“It feels really exciting to be able to be part of this group and especially to be able to share this milestone with a lot of my younger teammates. Watching them have this experience for the first time is exciting and fulfilling,” said Apps. “For me personally, I think Paris will be a different experience than Tokyo. To be able to have my friends and family there watching and having a full stadium is going to be different, and it does feel like my first Olympics in that way. Overall with this group and the growth that this team has had since Tokyo, I think in the last year we’ve really started to find our stride. There’s been a lot of confidence built this year and we’ve seen a lot of our young players really step up and take on some big roles on and off the pitch. I’m really excited to be able to put it all together and have the consistency that we’ve shown this season translate onto the field in Paris. I’m proud of the group and honoured to be able to be part of this for a second time.”
Chloe Daniels will be Canada’s vice-captain. Daniels is a former Rugby Canada Maple Leaf Development Academy player who debuted with the senior national sevens team in 2021 at the age of 18. She led Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team in points on the 2024 HSBC SVNS Series with 131.
“It’s hard to believe that the Olympic Games are just a few weeks away,” said Daniels. “Our journey this year has been incredibly inspiring for the team, boosting our confidence in competing for an Olympic medal. The dedication and hard work from both the players and staff throughout the year have prepared us to perform at our best, and we’re ready to tackle any challenges that come our way.”
Canada won its first Olympic rugby medal at Rio 2016 when the women’s rugby sevens team captured bronze in the discipline’s inaugural Olympic tournament. At Tokyo 2020, Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team did not advance from the group stage.
“As a program we’ve been building towards the Paris Olympics all season, and the players and staff are excited and honoured to be representing Canada on the Olympic stage in a few weeks,” said Jack Hanratty, Head Coach of Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team. “We have had many milestone moments this season, but know that there’s still more that we can and want to accomplish. While we congratulate and celebrate our travelling players, every single player in our program has contributed to our journey to the Olympics.”
Women’s rugby sevens will take place July 28 to July 30 (Day 2 to 4) at the Stade de France. Canada has drawn in Pool A, alongside New Zealand, Fiji and People’s Republic of China.
‘’The Canadian women’s rugby sevens team has brilliantly converted their tries to proudly represent Canada’s colours in Paris. These resilient and versatile athletes bring exceptional depth, diversity and cohesion to the team,‘’ said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. ‘’I look forward to cheering them on as they tackle challenges and dominate at the heart of the scrum to triumph on the Olympic stage in Paris.‘’
Team Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following coaches and support staff:
Coaches
Jack Hanratty (Halifax, N.S.) – Head Coach
Jocelyn Barrieau (Montreal, Que.) – Assistant Coach
Iain Monaghan (Victoria, B.C.) – Assistant Coach
Support Staff
Jennifer Joyce (Richmond, B.C.) – Strength & Conditioning Coach
Danielle McNally (Hubbards, N.S.) – Therapist
Richard Owen (Taunton, U.K.) – Analyst
Alexandra Henry (Georgetown, Ont.) – Team Manager
Dustin Hopkins (Victoria, B.C.) – Support Personnel
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.