Rugby Canada have made no secret of their desire to win the World Cup.
Last month they set up a fund to reach $1m to support the squad on their journey. They have just announced that they have already reached half way to the target.
In addition, a tour of South Africa will take place in July.
Full Fixture List
Pacific Four Series
May 2: Canada v USA at CPKC Stadium, Kansas City
May 16: Canada v New Zealand at Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
May 22: Canada v Australia at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Tour Matches
July 5: Canada v South Africa at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
July 12: Canada v South Africa at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Gqeberha
World Cup
August 23: Canada v Fiji at York Community Stadium, York
August 30: Canada v Wales at Salford Community Stadium, Mancheste
September 6: Canada v Scotland at Sandy Park, Exeter
and following the pool stages, what next?
After hosting a series of matches including WXV1 the Canadians now have to travel to play; the Pac-4 matches alone are all in far-flung parts of the globe. The Pac 4 and the tour both leave plenty of time between for recovery and squad training sessions.
The Maple Leafs occupy an unusual place in rugby’s hierarchy: they sit second in world rankings, keeping the Black Ferns in third; meanwhile the men’s team languishes 24th on their list. That is an extraordinary discrepancy, a measure of the women’s standing. Every opponent knows they must be treated with the greatest respect. Only England have managed to maintain an winning record against them in recent years, and they have had some nasty scares along the way – the latest a 21-12 scrape at WXV1 in Vancouver. France were seen off 46-24.
The way WXV is structured, the Canadians haven’t had the chance to take on New Zealand in this tournament.
Adding more ammunition to the arsenal, the Sevens team recently picked up bronze at the Hong Kong SVNS to stand fourth. So, unlike England/GB Sevens, they rank high in both codes. They play GB7s in the Singapore SVNS this Friday, 4 April.
It’s good to the RC reacting so positively to these successes. Money has always been tight; rugby is far from being the nation’s favourite sport.
