Calgary’s Piper Logan gets the chance to shine on the Rugby World Cup Sevens podium
Piper Logan, who made her international rugby sevens debut at the Commonwealth Games in July, will have another chance to shine on the world stage next week.
The 21-year-old from Calgary, named to World Rugby’s Women’s Dream Team after Canada finished fourth at the eight-nation Commonwealth competition in Birmingham, England, is on Canada’s roster for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, which will be held on September. held. 9-11 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Logan, who plays for the UBC Thunderbirds, impressed at a “next generation” tournament held in conjunction with the stop of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series from April 30 to May 1 in Langford, BC. She and several other prospects were then invited to train with the senior women’s side.
“Originally it was to bring her in to see if she enjoys the environment and to see if she is a future prospect,” said Canadian coach Jack Hanratty. “And very quickly we realized as a group of coaches that this is a talent that we have now. And it was just amazing to have a new athlete who is so young, but clearly has developed so many amazing skills in our path, through the province, through the club and through the university.”
Hanratty’s roster of 13 women consists of eight players aged 23 or under, including 19-year-old Krissy Scurfield and Chloe Daniels. Julia Greenshields is unavailable due to injury, while fellow veteran Charity Williams is still recovering to stay fit after an injury layoff.
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Breanne Nicholas, 28, and Olivia Apps, 23, serve as co-captains.
The team’s veteran is 30-year-old Bianca Farella, who is second on the World Series all-time women’s try-scoring list with 157.
The Cape Town women’s competition starts with knockout matches in the eighth of sixteen. The fifth-ranked Canadians will open against No. 12 China, with the winner taking on either the fourth-ranked US or No. 13 Poland.
One loss and you’re out of the fight for the championship.
The Canadian men’s team for Cape Town has one change from the roster that went winless at last weekend’s LA Sevens. Cooper Coats, who was injured in the World Series final in California, will be replaced by Matthew Oworu, who has recovered from the minor injury that kept him out of the LA event.
Veteran Phil Berna leads the Canadian men.
The men’s field of 24 countries in Cape Town will see 10th seeded Canada open against number 23 Zimbabwe with the winner facing number 7 France in the round of 16.
The Canadian women, second to New Zealand at the 2013 World Cup Sevens in Moscow, came seventh in San Francisco four years ago. A team in transition after a spate of retirements following the Tokyo Olympics, the women finished seventh overall in the World Series with six stops from 2022.
The Canadian men, who were also rebuilding under coach Henry Paul after departing after the Olympics, finished 14th overall in their nine-event World Series season.
The men’s best performance at the Rugby World Cup Sevens was a fifth-place finish in 2001 in Argentina. They finished twelfth in San Francisco four years ago.
The Canadian men flew from Los Angeles to South Africa. The women would leave on Friday, with a Victoria-Calgary-Amsterdam-Cape Town route.
South Africa will mark the eighth edition of the World Cup Sevens for men and the fourth for the women. Canada has qualified for each of these.
New Zealand won the last two editions from both men; s and Women’s World Cup Sevens.
Canada Rugby World Cup Sevens Rosters:
Women:
Florence Symonds, Hong Kong, University of British Columbia; Krissy Scurfield, Canmore, Alta., University of Victoria; Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Breanne Nicholas (Co-Captain), Blenheim, Ont.; Nakisa Levale, Abbotsford, BC; Abbotsford RFC; Emma Chown, Barrie, Ont., Aurora Barbarians/Queen’s University; Chloe Daniels, Sutton, Ont., Aurora Barbarians; Bianca Farella, Montreal, City of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, (co-capt.) Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Nor’wester Athletic Association/Westshore RFC; Piper Logan, Calgary, Calgary Hornets/UBC Thunderbirds; Keyara Wardley, Vulcan, Alta.
Travel reservation: Olivia De Couvreur, Ottawa, Ottawa Irish.
Men:
Anton Ngongo, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Jake Thiel, Victoria, Abbotsford RFC; Thomas Isherwood, Okotoks, Alta., Foothills Lions RFC; Phil Berna (capt.), Vancouver, Vancouver Rowing Club; Alex Russell, Chichester, England, McGill University; Josiah Morra, Toronto, Castaway Wanderers/Toronto Saracens; Brock Webster, Uxbridge, Ont., Oshawa Vikings RFC; Matthew Oworu, Calgary, Pacific Pride; D’Shawn Bowen, Toronto, Pacific Pride; Lachlan Kratz, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers/NOLA Gold; Elias Ergas, Vancouver, UBC; Ciaran Breen, Victoria, Cowichan RFC.
