PERFECT 3-0 DAY ONE FOR CANADA’S WOMEN’S SEVENS TEAM IN ATLANTA

 
Watch day two LIVE tomorrow at www.worldrugby.org
 
CANADA 26-5 RUSSIA
 
A strong second half from Canada saw them fight off Russia after a tense opening seven minutes. Canada fell behind early as Baizat Khamidova scored in the corner but Karen Paquin continued her fine season as she brought the scores even heading into the break.
 
It was all one way traffic in the second half though as Paquin pushed Canada ahead 12-5 before Kayla Moleschi scored Canada’s final two tries, both coming after nice dummies fooled the Russian line of defence. Emmanuela Jada made her series debut for Canada against Russia, starting on the wing.

CANADA 29 – 5 IRELAND

In the first two minutes of the half, Bianca Farella opened the scoring as she outpaces two Irish defenders to touch down in the left corner. On the ensuing re-start, Captain Jen Kish sailed high into the air to secure possession, with the ball finding it’s way through the hands to Farella, who touched down for an early brace to give Canada a 12-0 lead.
 
On the final play before the half time whistle, Toronto’s Ghislaine Landry danced through the opposition backline and touch down for her first score of the weekend. Fellow Torontonian Kelly Russell showed her class, adding the extra two from the sideline to lead 19-0. 
 
In the second frame, Emmanuela Jada – making her Canadian debut – opened the scoring after she finished off a nifty set of passing from her teammates.
 
Nearing the end of the half, 19-year-old Charity Williams had Jada in support but she backed herself and touched down for Canada’s fifth score. Ireland would get one back from Hannah Tyrrell, but it would be too little, too late as Canada emerged victorious 29-5.

CANADA 17 – 12 FRANCE

In the third and pool-deciding match of the day, the only two undefeated teams in Pool B – Canada and France – provided plenty of excitement to the fans at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
 
Les Blues opened the scoring with a try from Lina Geurin to take an early 7-0 lead. Captain Jen Kish, however, rallied her side by scoring a highlight reel try as she powered over the line with a French tackler on her back. Shortly after and following a French penalty, Ghislaine Landry sliced through France’s line off a set play to give Canada their first lead of the match 10-7 at halftime.
 
The second frame would see end-to-end action and Captain Kish touched down for her second try off a stolen line out to further the advantage to 17-7, however France would respond from Laurelin Fourcade to bring the game within one score at 17-12. Canada’s defense stood tall in the final three and a half minutes, leading to a perfect 3-0 record on the day. 

Canada’s Roster for the Atlanta Sevens (name, club, hometown):
 
Hannah Darling – (Peterborough Pagans) Warsaw, ON
Bianca Farella – (Town of Mont Royal RFC) Montreal, QC
Emmanuela Jada (Guelph Redcoats) Guelph, ON
Sara Kaljuvee – (Toronto Scottish) Ajax, ON
Jen Kish – (Edmonton Rockers) Edmonton, AB
Ghislaine Landry – (Toronto Scottish) Toronto, ON 
Megan Lukan – (Unattached) Barrie, ON
Kayla Mack – (Wild Oats) Saskatoon, SK
Kayla Moleschi – (Williams Lake Rustlers) Williams Lake, BC
Karen Paquin – (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC
Kelly Russell – (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON
Charity Williams – (Markham Irish) Toronto, ON
 
Unavailable for selection due to injury:
 
Elissa Alarie – (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club) Trois-Rivieres, QC
Britt Benn – (Guelph Redcoats) Napanee, ON
Magali Harvey – (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC 
Ashley Steacy – (Lethbridge Rugby Club) Lethbridge, AB
Natasha Watcham-Roy – (Hull Volant) Gatineau, QC
 
Canada’s Coaching Staff:
 
John Tait – Head Coach
Sandro Fiorino – Assistant Coach
Meaghan Howat – Manager
Sandeep Nandhra – Athletic Therapist
Tyler Goodale – Strength & Conditioning
 
Canada’s Atlanta Sevens Day 1 Schedule:
 
Canada 26-5 Russia 
Canada 29 – 5 Ireland 
Canada 17 – 12 France 

Canada’s Atlanta Sevens Day 2 Schedule:
 
Canada vs. Fiji – 12:52pm ET/9:52am PT

-30-

About Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is the national governing  body  of  the  sport  of  rugby  union  in Canada.  Rugby Football has a  long  history  in  Canada  dating  back  to  its  initial appearance in the 1860s. Since 1974, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture on  the  global  rugby  scene,  including  trips  to  each  of  the eight Men’s Rugby  World Cups and seven Women’s Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the Men’s and Women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game.

To support the growth of rugby at the grass-roots level and to ensure there are elite programs for prospering young rugby players to become involved with, Rugby Canada has put an emphasis on developing its junior programs.  Our goal is to develop and train competitive teams for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland and 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan. 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/RugbyCanada

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RugbyCanada

YouTube: www.youtube.com/RugbyCanada

Instagram: www.instagram.com/RugbyCanada  

Website: www.rugbycanada.ca 

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Bryan Kelly, Rugby Canada

Manager, Communications and Media Relations

Phone: 250-216-5272