Can home victory be sealed without a Kish?

Hannah Darling, Sara Kaljuvee and Nadia Popov are recalled to the Canada squad for the Maple Leafs’ first home tournament in the history of the series.They replace injured captain Jen Kish (pictured), Julia Greenshields and Mandy Marchak as Canada look to improve on three consecutive third place finishes when the series comes to the Westhills Stadium in Langford, British Columbia, this weekend.

Canada’s consistency leaves them joint second with Australia in the overall standings with 48 points, 12 points behind series leaders New Zealand. The top four teams at the end of the season will automatically qualify for the Olympic Games in 2016.

Darling and Popov were last with the women’s team in Sao Paulo in February while Kaljuvee returns from injury and will be making her season debut after captaining the side in Hong Kong.

Tait is aware that this weekend’s event on home soil is unique in what it means to the players, but he did not want to let that cloud his judgment when selecting his team.

“I know it’s especially tough to miss out on this one but we can't let that affect our selections,” said Tait. “I demand consistency from players and so I need to be consistent in what I am doing as well and that applies to selections. I base them always on form and selecting those who will give us the best chance to win both now and in Rio next year.

"We will continue to look for players and try new combinations until we are winning cups consistently. We are not here for or happy with finishing third, we want that medal to be gold.”

Kish will be missed

The injury to Kish is a big loss for Canada as the captain brings value to the team in both attack and defence. Kish was injured on day one in Atlanta and missed the rest of tournament, but Tait says she is progressing well.

“If this was the Olympics she would and could play,” said Tait. “That being said, it isn't, so we are being cautious on her return to competition and she will likely be back in for the rest of the series. Not having her in the team means that a few players will need to step up in their roles and stake a claim for continued selection because Kish will be back and as competitive as ever.

"We faced that challenge on day two in Atlanta where Kelly Russell, Kayla Moleschi and Karen Paquin all stepped up and had benchmark performances for Canada. We will need that again from those three in particular to be successful in Langford.”

Canada will be grouped with Russia, South Africa and USA in Pool C.

Canada squad: Elissa Alarie, Britt Benn, Hannah Darling, Bianca Farella, Sara Kaljuvee, Ghislaine Landry, Kayla Moleschi, Karen Paquin, Nadia Popov, Kelly Russell, Ashley Steacy (captain), Natasha Watcham-Roy.

USA hope to go one better

Buoyed by a runners-up finish in Atlanta last month, USA Women’s Eagles Sevens coach Ric Suggitt has revealed his 12-strong squad for the next round of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series in Canada on 18-19 April.

That result, in their first Cup final on the series since Houston in 2013, has lifted the USA women to fifth place in the standings and just two points behind France in the race for the coveted top four spot that will secure qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Suggitt recalls Melissa Fowler to the squad for the fourth round in Langford, British Columbia, as well as welcoming back Irene Gardner, who has not featured since the Atlanta round of the 2013-14 Series.

“Irene’s been with us at the last three camps and she’s a very intelligent rugby player,” Suggitt said. “She has a great work-rate on the field and has a better attitude off the field than probably anyone I’ve coached.

“Having Irene back in the fold gives us more experience on the field. We’ve still got a very young team. We still have a team that’s new to rugby, so having someone like Irene with Grif (Kelly Griffin) adds a lot more confidence to our players who are really excelling and learning the game of sevens.”

Bui Baravilala and Kate Zackary retain their spots after impressing in Atlanta, while their leading point-scorer Victoria Folayan has also recovered from a minor injury sustained in a tournament where the USA had no answer to an on-fire New Zealand in the Cup final.

USA will face neighbours and tournament hosts Canada in Pool C along with Russia and South Africa.

“We have tough teams,” Suggitt said of their pool opponents. “It’s going to be a battle in all three games. The girls have done a really good job breaking down the game film and going through it every morning here before we go out to practice. 

“We hope to be on top of our game and put it together even better than the last tournament, which is always our goal.

“We know we’re in a tough pool, but they also know they’re in a tough pool. We’re battling for a top-two spot and we’re battling for a top-four spot. That’s where we want to be.”

USA squad: Kathryn Johnson, Kelly Griffin, Megan Bonny, Alev Kelter, Akalaini Baravilala, Lauren Doyle,  Victoria Folayan, Joanne Fa'avesi, Irene Gardner, Melissa Fowler, Kate Zackary, Kristen Thomas.

Teenage debutant for South Africa

Kirsten Conrad will make her Springbok Women’s Sevens debut in the Canada round of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series on 18-19 April.

Conrad, who has already played for South Africa at under-20 level, was invited to train with the squad in January as Springbok Women’s Sevens coach Renfred Dazel looked to increase the depth at his disposal. 

Her inclusion in the 12-member squad is one of three changes from the Atlanta Sevens last month with speedster Veroeshka Grain, who has recovered from a knee injury, and Lorinda Brown returning. The trio replace Siviwe Basweni, Nosiphiwo Goda and Zaandre Theron.

South Africa will face hosts Canada, the USA and Russia in the tournament, which marks round four of the World Series.

“Kirsten has been training with us for a few months and she has made immense progress since joining us, so her selection is just reward for the hard work she has put in,” said Dazel. “She is a talented player and she is only 18 years old, so she has a bright future ahead of her. One of her main strengths is her speed and this is an important trait in Sevens, especially in a tough tournament such as the World Series.

“It is also good to have Veroeshka and Lorinda back as they are veterans in the game, and this experience will be invaluable as we face another tough pool round.”

Dazel was pleased with the preparation for the tournament and said the players realised that they had to step up their game significantly to achieve better results than that in the first three rounds. 

“We are halfway through the circuit and unfortunately we haven’t performed as well as we would have liked to, so hopefully we can take a step forward in Canada. We learned valuable lessons in the first half of the competition, and one of the keys to improving will be to avoid making the same mistakes going forward. We also have to lift our standards on defence.”

South Africa squad: Sunelle Barnard, Lorinda Brown, Kirsten Conrad, Phumeza Gadu, Rachelle Geldenhuys, Veroeshka Grain, Zenay Jordaan (captain), Jacqueline Kriel, Sinazo Nobele, Marithy Pienaar, Fundiswa Plaatjie, Mathrin Simmers.