Canada to Play in Final Before Thousands
Courtesy Jeff Hull, jhull@rugbycanada.ca
During pool play, in the Las Vegas Sevens international division, Canada squeaked by a surprisingly talented Netherlands team, and advanced to the semi-finals. For the women, it was a rare chance to play before tens of thousands of people, and to display the talent that makes Canada's women one of the strongest forces in women's world rugby.
Spain impressed everyone with their victory over France in earlier pool play, and Canada knew it was going to be a difficult challenge to advance to the Grand Final. However, as hundreds of Canadian fans made their way down to gather in the stadium section opposite Canada's sidelines, John Tait's team would come out of the gate with a passionate performance.
From the opening kick-off, Canada drove the Spanish defenders backwards, and retained good possession in their drives down field. Again, early on in the contest, it was Mandy Marchak leading the way with powerful runs, which the Spanish had difficulty containing. Another stand-out was Quebec youngster Magali Harvey, who impressed everyone in this tournament, with her speed, running lines and creativity on the pitch.
When the dust settled, Canada had defeated their Spanish semi-final opponents, by a score of 15 -0. They displayed obvious improvement and looked thoroughly dominant in doing so.
We spoke to Women's Head Coach John Tait, at field level after the match.
"I thought the girls retained possession very well today. We knew that Spain was well trained in how to isolate players at the breakdown, so we focused on retaining the ball in contact.
I thought Magali Harvey was impressive, again today, and all the players deserve credit for a big win."
Canada will now play the Netherlands in the Grand Final of the Las Vegas Sevens, before what is likely to be a capacity crowd on finals day, in Sam Boyd Stadium. The game will take place at 10:48 am Las Vegas time, with delayed coverage on NBC later on Sunday.
Final Score: Canada (15) - Spain (0)