By Canadian Press

Canada rugby coach names 40-woman camp roster ahead of Pacific Four Series tests

Jun 15, 2023 | 12:25 PM

Canada women’s rugby coach Kevin Rouet has named a 40-player roster for a camp ahead of a pair of World Rugby Pacific Four Series matches in Ottawa next month.

The pre-tournament camp will be held in Perth, Ont., from June 26 to July 1.

The fourth-ranked Canadian women play No. 2 New Zealand on July 8 and No. 5 Australia on July 14 at TD Place Stadium. Canada defeated the seventh-ranked U.S. 50-17 on April 1 in its opening match of the four-team tournament in Madrid.

The camp roster includes 22 players from the Canadian team that finished fourth at last year’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Emily Tuttosi, Daleaka Menin and Gabrielle Senft will come to camp from England where they will look to help the Exeter Chefs beat Gloucester-Hartpury RFC in the Premier 15s final. Gloucester-Hartpury (16-2-0) topped the regular-season standings, finishing one point ahead of Exeter (15-3-0).

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World Cup champion New Zealand opens Pacific Four Series play June 29 against Australia in Brisbane.

The top three Pacific Four Series teams will join No. 1 England, No. 3 France and No. 6 Wales — the top three sides from the 2023 Women’s Six Nations — in the inaugural WXV, a new three-tier annual global women’s international 15s competition.

The bottom Pacific Four Series team will slot into the WXV second tier, alongside two teams from Europe and regional qualification winners from Africa, Asia and Oceania.

The WXV is scheduled for October-November.

Canada finished runner-up to New Zealand at last year’s Pacific Four Series. The U.S. was third and Australia fourth.

The Canadian roster also includes seven players who competed on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series circuit this season: Alysha Corrigan, Fancy Bermudez, Florence Symonds, Madison Grant, Olivia Apps, Sabrina Poulin, and Canada 15s captain Sophie de Goede. 

The roster also includes the uncapped Savannah Bauder, Mya Brubacher, Sara Cline, Jordan McLeod, Shoshanah Seumanutafa, Ashlynn Smith, Rachel Smith, and Rori Wood.

Selection involved a series of regional competitions that took place from April to June. Twenty-six of the selected 40, along with 14 of the non-travelling reserves, competed on teams representing B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

“Since returning from our tour in Spain earlier this year, we have continued collaborating with universities, clubs, provincial unions, and Canada’s women’s sevens team to build the squad that will take on New Zealand and Australia at TD Place,” Rouet said in a statement.

“Together these 40 players bring a wealth of experience, skill and passion, and are excited about the prospect of playing in front of a loud home crowd on Canadian soil.”

The pre-tournament camp will conclude with a Canada Day training scrimmage with the U.S., consisting of three 30-minute periods.

Rouet will then name his tournament roster. 

Canada Camp Roster

Forwards: Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Barrhaven Scottish/Saracens; Ashlynn Smith, Abbotsford, B.C.,  UBC; Caroline Crossely, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; Daleaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs; Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Calgary Hornets/Exeter Chiefs; Emma Taylor, Scotsburn, N.S., Halifax RFC; Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec/Stade Bordelais; Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Castaway Wanderers/Exeter Chiefs; Gillian Boag, Calgary, Capilano RFC; Jordan McLeod, Rivers, Man., Brandon Barbarians/UBC; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., St-Anne-de-Bellevue/ASM Romagnat; Marie-Pier Fauteux, Sherbrooke, Que., Club de rugby de Quebec/Universite Laval; McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Aurora Barbarians; Mya Brubacher, West Montrose, Ont., Kingston Panthers/Queen’s University; Olivia DeMerchant, Mapledale, N.B., Halifax Tars RFC; Rachel Smith, South Surrey, B.C.; UBC; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., UBC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Sara Svoboda, Belleville, Ont., Belleville Bulldogs/Loughborough Lightning; Sophie de Goede, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers RFC; Talia Hennessy, Chelsea, Que.,  Ottawa Irish/University of Ottawa; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Cowichan RFC; Zoe Williams, Victoria, Westshore RFC/University of Victoria.

Backs: Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Aurora Barbarians/University of Ottawa; Corinne Frechette, Saint-Zephirin-de-Courval, Que., Club de rugby de Quebec/Universite Laval; Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, NorWester Athletic Associations/Westshore RFC; Florence Symonds, Hong Kong, UBC;  Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Guelph Redcoats/Castaway Wanderers; Justine Pelletier, Riviere-du-Loup, Que., Club de rugby de Quebec/Stade Bordelais; Madison Grant, Cornwall, Ont., Cornwall Claymores; Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., TMRRFC/Concordia Universite; Olivia Apps, .(Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Westshore RFC/Worcester Warriors; Sabrina Poulin, St-Georges, Que., TMRRFC/Eibar Rugby Taldea; Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Toronto Scottish/Westshore RFC; Sarah-Maude Lachance, Victoriaville, Que., Club de rugby de Quebec/Lons Section Paloise; Savannah Bauder, North Vancouver, UBC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C.,; UBC.

Non-Travelling Reserves: Abby Duguid, Edmonton, University of Lethbridge; Adea Elliot, Owen Sound, Ont., Guelph Rugby Club; Alayna Scramstad, Lashburn, Sask., UBC; Audrey Champagne, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec/Universite Laval; Cecile Leclerc, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec/Universite Laval; Eden Kilgour, Barrie, Ont., Westshore RFC/Aurora Barbarians; Ellen Murphy, Augustine Cove, P.E.I., Charlottetown RFC; Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Calgary Irish Rugby Club/University of Calgary; Justine Blatt-Janmatt, Wolfville, N.S., Westshore RFC/University of Victoria; Kendra Cousineau, Port Colborne, Ont., Niagara Wasps/University of Guelph; Lizzie Gibson, Caledon, Ont., Oakville Crusaders/Queen’s University; Magali Harvey, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec/Queen’s University; Maggie Mackinnon, Sooke, B.C., University of Victoria; Marie Thibault, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Renee Gonzalez, Toronto, Westshore RFC/University of Victoria.

Unavailable For Selection

Alexandra Tessier, Brianna Miller, Brittany Kassil, Cassandra Tuffnail, Chloe Daniels, Holly Philips, Karen Paquin, Maya Montiel, Miklela Nelson, Pamphinette Buisa, Taylor Perry, Veronica Harrigan. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press