Kévin Rouet has announced the names of the 34 players to take part in this year’s Pacific Four tournament:
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis (Stade Français Paris), Brittany Kassil (Guelph), Cassandra Tuffnail (Trailfinders),
Courtney Holtkamp (Red Deer Titans), DaLeaka Menin (Exeter Chiefs), Emily Tuttosi (Exeter Chiefs), Fabiola Forteza (Stade Bordelais), Gabrielle Senft (Stade Bordelais), Gillian Boag (Capilano), Julia Omokhuale (Leicester Tigers), Laetitia Royer (ASM Romagnat), McKinley Hunt (Saracens), Olivia DeMerchant (Halifax Tars), Pamphinette Buisa (Ottawa Irish), Sara Cline (Western Force), Sara Svoboda (Loughborough Lightning), Sophie de Goede (Saracens), Tyson Beukeboom (Trailfinders)
(18)
Backs
Alexandra Tessier (Exeter Chiefs), Claire Gallagher (Leicester Tigers), Fancy Bermudez (Westshore), Julia Schell (Trailfinders), Justine Pelletier (Stade Bordelais), Madison Grant (Cornwall Claymores), Mahalia Robinson (Town of Mount Royal), Olivia Apps (Lindsay), Paige Farries (Saracens), Sabrina Poulin (Town of Mount Royal), Sarah-Maude Lachance (Stade Bordelais), Shoshanah Seumanutafa (Chiefs Manawa)
(16)
Non-travelling reserves
Ashlynn Smith (University of Calgary), Audrey Champagne (Club de rugby de Québec), Corinne Fréchette (Club de rugby de Québec), Demi Swann (Exeter Chiefs), Eden Kilgour (Westshore),
Emily Belchos (Castaway Wanderers), Emma Taylor (Halifax), Jordan McLeod (Brandon Barbarians), Larah Wright (Calgary Hornets), Lizzie Gibson (Oakville Crusaders), Magali Harvey (Stade Bordelais), Maggie Mackinnon (University of Victoria), Maya Montiel (Saracens), Mikiela Nelson (Capilano), Mya Brubacher (Kingston Panthers), Rachel Smith (University of British Columbia), Rosalie Lepage (Université Laval), Taylor Perry (Oakville Crusaders)
(18)
Once again the full list looks quite daunting. The Maple Leafs do the nation proud.
Rouet is one more head coach to opt for a more even balance between forwards and backs (18:16) than might seem sensible, but he knows what he’s doing.
Tyson Beukeboom, one of three Trailfinders Women listed, is on the edge of making history. She sits currently on 65 caps; the record-holder is Gillian Florence on 67.
A feature typical of a Canadian squad is that third category, the ‘NTRs’, now a large cohort of 18. Most of them are young hopefuls, many still at university; but certainly not all of them. The name Magali Harvey is bound to catch the eye, but she is consigned to the stay-at-homes – a sign that time catches up on all of us.
The make-up of the travelling squad looks like this: twelve play in England, six in France and one, Gillian Boag, in Italy. Shoshanah Seumanutafa plays in New Zealand, though she doesn’t figure in Chiefs Manawa’s first-choice line-up. I used to reckon that Francophone Quebec provided most of the France-based backs, but that is no longer true. In the pack, Ellis, Forteza, Royer and Senft all perform in Elite 1.
The coming days see the squad assemble in Langford for initial training. They fly out to Los Angeles for the opening match against the USA on 28 April. After that they play the Wallaroos in Sydney on 11 May, then the Black Ferns in Christchurch on 19 May.
We can look later in detail at the line-ups for the Pac-4. For the moment it’s hard to see the USA Eagles overturning last year’s results and displacing any one of Australia, Canada and New Zealand from tier one of WXV.
