B.C. Rugby’s Select women’s team will face the Canada West Maple Leafs in the curtain-raiser match for the Feb. 4 Americas Rugby championship Canada vs. Argentina game in Langford.
Coach Aaron Frisby has put together a roster from all different experience levels, ranging from Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Kelly Russell to Canada West All Star Jess Neilson.
The 22-player roster also features a handful of Burnaby-based players, including Burnaby Lake Rugby Club’s Carolyn McEwen as captain.
The lineup also includes BLRC’s Jess Harvey and Emily
Van Gulik, and Simon Fraser
University’s Demi Stamatakis. Harvey and Stamatakis played last year with B.C.’s under-23 sevens team that won the Vegas
Invitational title. Among the players, 10 have played for Canada previously, including McEwen and Stamatakis.
This will also be an important game for Canada’s coaching staff as it will contribute to player development and player selection for the Road to Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“This game is an opportunity for our national team players based in B.C. to play a fast-paced rugby game and for the coaching staff to get a quality game to analyze,” said Canadian national women’s XVs head coach Francois Ratier.
