It was the tale of two drastically different Olympic Games for the Canadian Women’s Rugby Sevens teams at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, and then the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Three years ago, there was an immense expectation that Canada would come away with an Olympic medal, and it simply did not happen. In fact, Canada never even got out of their pool, as they were clobbered 31-0 to France and were completely outworked in a 26-12 loss to Fiji. Out of the all the team sports at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the lack of performance of the women’s rugby sevens program was the biggest disappointment and it was not even remotely close.
So why did the Canadian women’s rugby sevens program underperform so badly? Well for one, there was negative culture surrounding the team. At the time of the Olympic Games, Jamie Cudmore, the head of the National Development Program, was fired in the summer of 2021 for inappropriate tweets on social media. The firing came after Canadian head coach John Tait suddenly resigned after players filed a complaint against him for mistreatment.
There was a new culture put in place and what new Canadian coach Jack Hanratty accomplished was quite simply miraculous in a short period of time. Only a couple of years ago, the Canadian Women’s Rugby Sevens program was completely down in the dumps with no positive signs getting out. However, things changed. We saw an amazing performance by the Canadian team in Olympic qualifying in Langford, British Columbia last summer. That momentum carried over to the Olympic Games themselves, as Canada responded with wins over Fiji and France, the same two teams that beat them in Tokyo. But the statement win for the program came against Australia, who they beat 21-12 at Stade de France in Paris on Tuesday in the semifinals, and guaranteed Canada that Olympic medal. The Canadian stars were Piper Logan of Calgary, Alberta, who had two tries, and Chloe Daniels of Sutton, Ontario, who had one.
New Zealand was always going to be tough. They beat Canada convincingly 33-7 in Group A play, and then 19-12 in a tight gold medal game. However, the foundation was set for the Canadian women’s rugby sevens program. Now, as the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles lies ahead, Team Canada will once again have a new head coach in charge of the women’s program. According to Donna Spencer of the Canadian Press, the new head coach will be assistant coach Jocelyn Barrrieau, as Hanratty has accepted a job as the head coach of the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Let’s hope past mistakes have been learned and this team can build on the progress made from Paris!
