There are no guarantees that another opportunity will come, so Colette McAuley didn’t hesitate to book a flight to England, taking her 15-year-old daughter to watch Canada play New Zealand in the semifinals of the Women鈥檚 Rugby World Cup.
Eleven years ago, McAuley was an assistant coach of the Canadian women鈥檚 team that ran through every opponent to make it to the final against the Red Roses. Her daughter, four years old then, is an aspiring player now and McAuley wanted her to see the best聽international competition up close.
History has an uncanny way of repeating itself. Canada is set to face England once again in the gold-medal game, this time in front of 82,000 fans in Twickenham, England. A strong wave of rugby fever is taking over Canada.
If going up against the No. 1-ranked team wasn鈥檛 enough of a challenge, nearly all the 82,000
鈥淚t鈥檚 a watch party here on every game day. We just get together and celebrate,鈥 said McAuley, now an聽assistant coach for the University of Guelph Gryphons women鈥檚 rugby team, which has plenty of incentive to be invested in the team trying to bring a gold medal to Canada. Brittany Kassil, Julia Schell and Taylor McKnight have all played in Guelph.
McAuley is excited by the changes since 2014.
鈥淚 think we were truly the underdogs back then,鈥 she said, recalling how many players on the 2014 squad had no overseas or professional experience and had not faced the world powers. The current team, ranked No. 2 under head coach Kevin Rouet, has a shot against anybody.
鈥淗e just really believed in their abilities, and that belief turned into confidence and that confidence turned into chemistry, and now this team is just dynamite,鈥 McAuley said. 鈥淭he intimidation factor isn鈥檛 there anymore because some of them are teammates (at the club level), so they know how they play. (The players have) the ability to read the opposition.鈥
Jane Kirby who retired after earning 30 caps for Canada, remembers working two jobs while most of her teammates also had full-time jobs on top of playing.
鈥淭hat was the first time we were being paid to participate, and I鈥檓 using the term 鈥榩aid鈥 very generously because it didn鈥檛 cover our flight, they didn鈥檛 cover our time off work, but it mattered,鈥 she said.
The Tragically Hip guitarist Rob Baker has added his voice to those behind the Canadian wome…
Kirby, a Brampton native, said she fell in love with rugby partly because of the camaraderie. Even the opponents don鈥檛 feel like enemies once the final whistle is blown. But make no mistake: Saturday鈥檚 rematch is definitely personal.
鈥淚t really does feel like unfinished business from 2014 and I absolutely want Canada to beat England this time around,鈥 Kirby said.
Former captain Kelly Russell feels the same way. She says the current team is playing 鈥渢he most exciting brand of rugby鈥 she has witnessed in many years. She loves the speed with which they play and their unpredictability.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e outplayed every opposition they鈥檝e faced, and Saturday is going to come down to the grittiness, pushing harder than the opposition on the field, another metre more, another ounce of throwing your body in front of the opposition,鈥 Russell said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 such a small margin at the top in terms of skill level and individual performance, and it really comes down to how much more are you willing to push your body through to get the upper hand.鈥
The most important win for the former players has been the growth of the game. They are thrilled to be watching the matches live on TSN, rather than through some grainy webcast. They are happy to see younger generations聽setting their sights on becoming pro players. And they would like to see more financial support for the grassroots programs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been out there that the girls have had to crowdfund and look for financial support in many different avenues to get where they are, and I鈥檝e seen that through my career,” Russell said. “Going forward, hopefully that changes.
鈥淭hese are professional athletes that are, from dawn to dust, eating, breathing and thinking rugby to get the best out of their bodies. These are hardworking individuals that deserve to be supported in their endeavours.鈥
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