Team Canada women’s rugby sevens team ready for SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles
When asked to describe the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team, members of the squad chose many words that you would expect when talking about an Olympic medal-winning team: determined, dedicated, hard-working.
But, importantly, they also chose words like “goofy,” “loving,” and “selfless”—indicators of a team bond that extends far beyond the confines of the rugby pitch.
The women’s sevens team captivated Team Canada fans throughout the Olympic tournament at Paris 2024, with their upset wins over the host team France in a packed Stade de France in the quarterfinals, as well as a strong Australian squad in the semis. The silver medal they came home with is Canada’s highest ever finish in Olympic rugby.
The team is now headed to the SVNS World Championship, taking place May 3-4 in Los Angeles. The event is the finale of the 2025 SVNS series.
The Canadians are entering with momentum, coming off back-to-back bronze medal finishes at the SVNS stops in Hong Kong and Singapore. Team Canada enters the championship ranked fourth, having accumulated 72 points throughout the series. Paris 2024 gold medal winner New Zealand sits in first with 116 points, followed by Australia (106) and France (80).
But the Canadian team headed to L.A. is not the exact same that took to the pitch in Paris, with post-Games being a crucial time for player development as the start of the next quad.
“It’s a really exciting time, having the success a year after Paris, where it’s a development year,” said Asia Hogan-Rochester, a veteran Team Canada player. “There’s a lot of people who’ve gotten their first caps, their first tries, in a fundamental year for the quad. I feel like it speaks to the future of what’s to come for this generation of athletes.”
Carissa Norsten, the 2024 SVNS series rookie of the year, says that the podiums in Hong Kong and Singapore have built up a lot of confidence, particularly in the newer players. The Olympic medal was the ultimate confidence booster for those who competed in Paris.
“I think that having an Olympic silver medal under our belts is in the back of our heads, letting us know that we can do it—we can beat anyone we play,” said Norsten. “I think that’s helped us to push all the new players coming in as well, to feel like they’re coming into a team that can beat anybody.”
As the name indicates, rugby sevens is played with seven players on a team, rather than the 15 players in rugby union. Games are shorter, with two seven-minute halves, rather than two 40-minute halves. As such, the sport is inherently fast-paced.
In an already frenetic sport, Team Canada stands out for its speed, offensively and defensively, and ability to adapt on the fly.
Hogan-Rochester put it rather elegantly: “I’d say that we are the best team at being the best team.”
“That is something that our defensive coach tries to drill into us, and it gives us a sense of confidence that we don’t have to be perfect, but we have to have each other’s backs,” Hogan-Rochester explained. “If there’s a missed tackle, we have that inside person catching up and making up for that. We have the highest amount of chase-back tackles on the series. So we’re a team that’s tough to score against, because even if you think you’re away, you might not really be.”
Determined. Dedicated. Hard-working.
Norsten was more lighthearted about the team’s playing style: “I think we play a little bit chaotic compared to some teams. But it’s an organized chaos,” she said with a chuckle. The organized chaos is warmed up for, in part, by the team’s tradition of a game day dance circle.
Because where’s the fun in sport if it doesn’t involve some goofiness, selflessness, and love.
Team Canada’s first game will be against Japan, kicking off at 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET on Saturday May 3.