Canada Women’s Sevens coach Natascha Wesch has named a pool of 20 players who will attend a training camp in Montreal over the next five days as they continue their preparations for the NAWIRA [North America West Indies Rugby Association] regional qualifier for RWC Sevens 2009.
The NAWIRA qualifier – the penultimate regional qualifier for RWC Sevens 2009 – takes place in the Bahamas on 25-26 October with the two finalists in both the men’s and women’s competitions securing their passages to Dubai next March.
Wesch and her staff have narrowed their player pool down from more than 50 when the programme started 18 months ago down to this 20 from which they will select the players tasked with qualifying for the first ever women’s competition in RWC Sevens history.
Among the names standing out from this group are Heather Moyse, Julia Sugawara, Mandy Marchak and Maria Gallo, the quartet having helped Canada finish fourth at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2006 on home soil in Edmonton.
“Selections for this event were very difficult as we’ve had some very talented athletes represent Canada on the international Sevens scene this past year and a half,” explained Wesch on the eve of the camp at John Abbott College in Montreal.
“The calibre is quite high and the next step is to bring the athletes together and focus on getting everything right for the qualifier.”
Canada Women’s Sevens training squad:
Ashley Patzer, Brittany Waters, Brooke Hilditch, Cheryl Phillips, Genevieve Gay, Heather Moyse, Jess Dovanne, Jill Harris, Julia Sugawara, Julianne Zussman, Kelly Russell, Laura Stoughton, Mandy Marchak, Maria Gallo, Marie-Josee Blais, Meghan Mutrie, Nat Bendavid, Rosie Cobbett, Tanja Ness, Tara Eckert.
