Australia’s captain Shannon Parry insists her side are aiming for a fourth consecutive tournament win in Canada this weekend.
The Dubai, Sao Paulo and Atlanta sevens winners have made several changes for the fourth round of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series at the home of Rugby Canada on Saturday and Sunday.
Youth Olympics Gold Medallist Shenae Ciesiolka, Commonweath Youth Games Gold Medalist Demi Hayes and Georgina Friedrichs will all make their World Series debuts in Langford.
While Nicole Beck returns after being rested for Atlanta, Ellia Green (shoulder), Brooke Anderson (leg), Taleena Simon (shoulder), Sharni Williams (knee) and Evania Pelite are all out through injury, as Charlotte Caslick, Alicia Quirk and Emma Tonegato are rested.
Speaking as captains gathered in Victoria, British Columbia on Thursday, Shannon Parry said:
“We’re definitely aiming for four tournaments back-to-back. Our young girls have earned this opportunity to have a crack and our coach (Tim Walsh) always said that everyone is going to get an opportunity. I can’t wait to see what the youngsters bring this weekend.
“I think the fact that we have a number of girls rested will make a difference, but I have all the faith in our young girls coming through – they’ve been pressing for selection and I’m interested to see what they bring at the international level.
Last year at the same event in Langford, hosts Canada sparkled on day one but went out early on day two, much to the disappointment of the home crowd. This year captain Jen Kish wants to give them something more to shout about.
“We can’t have any mental lapses this weekend and we’ve done a lot of work on playing in front of home crowds since last year, and I think it’s going to benefit us this weekend. We want to put on a good show for the Canadian crowd.
“The goal is to get a tournament win on the series this year. We’ve come close but the room for error is so minimal now, so another goal is to minimise mistakes and then to win a cup final - preferably here at home.
Last year’s tournament was a sell-out as was this year’s men’s event in BC Place in nearby Vancouver, something that highlights the growth of the sport in Canada.
“Two successful tournaments in the same province is pretty phenomenal. Sevens is the type of game that fans don’t really need to understand but will love it when they see it. The game is going to keep growing and that’s really exciting.
Meanwhile, Brazil return to the series this weekend as the invitational team, playing their last competitive series tournament before the Olympic Games in their home country this August.
Bruna Lotufo, who is captaining the side this weekend, admits they have to make the most of the next few days in Canada.
“It’s a great opportunity to play against the top teams and prepare ourselves for the Olympics. We have been training hard but we know we still have to step up against certain teams. We didn’t play last week so we know others will be tired and we may have an opportunity there.
The back-to-back tournaments have taken a toll on some teams, with many squads resting players, focusing on recovery and taking time to relax in the beautiful surroundings of Victoria, British Columbia.
England’s captain Emily Scarratt, who led her team to a third-place finish last week in Atlanta, admits the back-to-back is tough on teams.
“We’ve had loads of recovery and lots of light training sessions this week.
“It’s tough doing back-to-back tournaments to be honest, Atlanta was a really tough tournament and playing here on the 4G pitch is going to be tough also.
“But it’s a beautiful setting here and it’s a really good place to try to recover,” said Scarratt.
