Brazil have taken an encouraging 10 points from the first two tournaments to sit ninth in the overall World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series standings, but Paula Ishibashi, one of the stars of the Sao Paulo Sevens, believes her side have a lot more to give when the build-up to Rio 2016 continues in the USA this weekend.
“Our coaches, Chris Neill and Youssef Driss, always tell us that we must believe in ourselves, and that we can do more than we think, and they are right,” Ishibashi said.
“We’ve missed out on countless opportunities, but when we are able to grasp those opportunities positive results are achieved.”
Veteran back Ishibashi contributed 15 points to Brazil’s cause on home soil in SãoPaulo last month, earning herself a place in the tournament’s Dream Team as well as helping Os Yaras to reach their third Cup quarter-final in the last two seasons.
In the opening round in Dubai last December, they bounced back from losses to Fiji, England and Canada on day one to beat Spain and South Africa and win the Bowl final.
“It has been a good start to this season with lots of opportunities to learn,” Ishibashi added. “We had a steady evolution in Dubai and we experienced the different feelings between a bad first day and a memorable comeback on the second day.
“In São Paulo, we experienced the opposite: a strong first day and a not so good second day. It has been a challenge and we love challenges. I believe we are overcoming some barriers and making every tournament worthwhile.
“As I said, we have to believe that we can do much more. We want to achieve better results, for sure.”
Familar faces
Having been drawn in the same pool as England, Canada and China, who they beat 24-14 in SãoPaulo, Os Yaras will go into the Atlanta Sevens with a fair idea of the standards required to make back-to-back Cup quarter-finals.
“We’ve had ups and downs in the past against all of the teams we’ve been drawn against,” Ishibashi said. “However, the draw does not matter, it is always challenging.
“We have to play at a high level in every match, cut out any errors and take advantage of other teams' mistakes. Rugby sevens is a game in which any error can be disastrous and whoever makes less mistakes often wins.”
Brazil have been scrutinising their performances in the weeks between the SãoPaulo and Atlanta tournaments in a bid to fine tune their game.
“We watched our previous matches many times over to identify the good and bad parts of our game.” Ishibashi added. “We now have a clear vision about what we want to achieve.”
Brazil squad for Atlanta: Luiza Campos (captain), Mariana Ramalho, Paula Ishibashi, Beatriz Futuro, Amanda Araujo, Júlia Sarda, Juliana Esteves, Raquel Kochhann, Bruna Lotufo, Haline Scatrut, Thais Rocha, Karina Godoi, Isadora Cerullo.
