Canada’s women’s rugby team has made its way to number two in the world ranking following a weekend win over France and the team captain says they’ve got their eyes set on something bigger.
“Obviously winning the tournament would be amazing but we’re looking at long-term goals, we’re looking to win World Cup,” said Captain of the Canadian Women’s Rugby team Tyson Beukeboom.
“We don’t get to spend a lot of time together so our first game of the tournament it’s always like ‘where are we going to land?’ Coming out with a big win just builds that confidence and we’re just hoping to build from there.”
Beukeboom says getting the rare opportunity to compete on home soil and see their family and friends in the stands helps motivate the squad.
“Having that access for our friends and family and having that support just gives us a little bit more of a boost,” she said.
Canada’s Head Coach Kevin Rouet says it’s important to celebrate big wins however growing and building as a team is his number one focus.
“Simple communication, simple feedback, and just being on the same page, and also involving all players not just the players who play because I want everyone involved in the progression,” he said.
The Canadians will take on Ireland in their second match of WXV 1 on Saturday.
“We watch lots of videos, analyze ourselves, analyze the other teams- obviously lots of downtime to recover and be ready for the next game making sure that mentally and physically we’re ready to go,” said Beukeboom.