Canada Announces Men’s and Women’s 7s Rosters for HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver

Following Pools and Schedule Announcement, Canada reveals teams for Vancouver

British Columbia will be well represented at the HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver after Rugby Canada announced its Men’s and Women’s rosters for the upcoming event at BC Place.

Following the competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Rugby Canada has selected a new-look Women’s 7s squad for Canada’s return in Vancouver over September 18-19 and named a new coaching team leading the charge.

Victoria’s Ella O-Regan (Castaway Wanderers/UVIC) leads the BC charge on the Women’s 7s team, while nine British Columbia natives feature on the Men’s team.

Congratulations to Phil Berna (Vancouver Rowing Club), Jake Thiel (Abbotsford RFC), Nicholas Allen (UBC Thunderbirds), Ciaran Breen (Cowichan RFC), Jack Carson (UBC Thunderbirds), Matthew Percillier (UBC Thunderbirds), Brennig Prevost (Castaway Wanderers), Elias Ergas (UBC Thunderbirds) and Anton Ngongo (Castaway Wanderers) on their selection.

The men’s team will be without former co-captain Nathan Hirayama, who announced his retirement this week. BC’s Conor Trainor also announced his retirement following the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Earlier on Friday, the Pools and Schedule for Vancouver was released.

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ALL CHANGE FOR WOMEN’S SEVENS TEAM

In a new-look Canada Women’s Sevens outfit, Kelly Russell will fill the role of Head Coach for the Vancouver and Edmonton events. Since signing off from her remarkable career which included playing in the final of both the 7s and 15s Rugby World Cup in 2013 and 2014 – the latter as the team captain – and being part of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games Bronze medal Canadian squad and subsequently finishing her career with 53 caps for the 15s team, she immediately turned her dedication of the game towards coaching.

Russell is currently the Head Coach of the Women’s 7s Academy Program, Assistant Coach of the Senior Women’s Team, and Assistant Coach for the National U20’s. Russell will be joined by Jack Hanratty, the Head Coach of Rugby Canada’s U20 Women’s Team, Assistant Coach of the Senior Women’s Team, and Rugby Canada Academy Coach – Atlantic. Russell and Hanratty have a great working relationship from their time together with the National U20 and Senior Women’s team and are looking forward to the exciting task at hand.

The team selection features some players with World Series playing experience, along with next generation athletes making their first starts at this level. Other experienced players will be taking a deserved rest prior to the start of the 2022 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Following the HSBC Canada Sevens Vancouver, the team will head straight to Edmonton for the debut of a second HSBC Canada Sevens event at Commonwealth Stadium September 25-26.

Canada’s Women’s 7s Roster:

Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) — Lindsay RFC

Fancy Bermudez-Chavez (Edmonton, AB) — Nor’Wester Athletic Association

Emma Chown (Barrie, ON) — Aurora Barbarians

Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) — CRFC/Saracens

Chloe Daniels (Sutton, ON) — RC Academy / Queens University

Olivia De Couvreur (Ottawa, ON) — Ottawa Irish

Renee Gonzalez (Toronto, ON) — UVIC

Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON — N/A

Breanne Nicholas (Blenheim, ON) — London St. Georges

Arielle Normandin-Leclerc (Montreal, QC) — Town of Mount Royal Rugby

Ella O-Regan (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / UVIC

Temitope Ogunjimi (Calgary, AB) — Calgary Hornets RFC

Sabrina Poulin (Saint-George de Beauce, QC) — Town of Mount Royal Rugby

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NEW-LOOK MEN’S 7S SQUAD READY TO IMPRESS

Following their quarter-final performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Head Coach Henry Paul has named a new-look squad for Canada’s return in Vancouver. The tournament will be the first World Series event to be played since March 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian co-captain Nathan Hirayama announced his retirement from the 7s program earlier this week. An icon of the sport, Hirayama retires as the third leading scorer in Sevens Series history with 1,859 points, and the all-time Canadian try leader with 147 scored in 79 Series tournament appearances. He was also selected as a flag bearer, alongside Miranda Ayim, for Team Canada at the opening ceremonies for the recent Tokyo Olympic Games.

Canada will also be without the services of Conor Trainor, who announced his retirement last month. Trainor was a dual-code stalwart for both the Men’s 7s and 15s programs and finished his 7s career with 287 points, ranking 16th all-time for Canada.

“First off, I want to recognise both Nathan and Conor for their contributions to Canada,” stated Head Coach Henry Paul. “This selection features some new and exciting players as we turn our attention to the shortened build-up to the 2024 Olympics in France.”

Paul continued, “After the two events on the 2021 Series, we will look to bring together these new players with some returning veterans that are taking a deserved rest in order to be ready for the start of the full 2022 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Dubai.”

Canada’s Men’s 7s Roster:

Phil Berna (Vancouver, BC) — Vancouver Rowing Club

Jake Thiel (Abbotsford, BC) — Abbotsford RFC

Matt Oworu (Calgary, AB) — Pacific Pride

Nicholas Allen (Vancouver, BC) — UBC Thunderbirds

Alex Russell (Chichester, UK) — McGill University

Ciaran Breen (Victoria, BC) — Cowichan RFC

Jack Carson (Victoria, BC) — UBC Thunderbirds

Matthew Percillier (Victoria, BC) — UBC Thunderbirds

Brennig Prevost (Victoria, BC) — Castaway Wanderers

Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) — Toronto Saracens

Andrew Coe (Markham, ON) — Markham Irish RFC

Elias Ergas (Vancouver, BC) — UBC Thunderbirds

Anton Ngongo (Victoria, BC) — Castaway Wanderers

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