A couple of Peninsula athletes have been named to Team Canada ahead of their second match in South Africa.
Following a 50-20 victory for Canada’s women’s rugby team this past Saturday, head coach Kevin Rouet has selected his roster for the second of back-to-back matches in South Africa against the Springbok women, and it features Pacific Academy grad Shoshanah Seumanutafa, with Earl Marriott Secondary alum Rachel Smith listed as a finisher (replacement).
“One of the main purposes of this tour was to make sure all 32 players got valuable playing experience and to give them the opportunity to showcase themselves on the field,” said Rouet in a Rugby Canada release.
“It was a tough encounter in altitude last weekend, it’s now time to keep growing and gaining experience with our next game. You’ll see that there are a lot of changes to our team compared to last week, but this tour was about building our depth and confidence ahead of the World Cup. I am excited to see how this group performances this week.”
Canada and South Africa will kick off at 1:30 p.m. local time (which is 4:30 a.m. Pacific Time) on Saturday (July 12) at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Gqeberha, taking to the pitch ahead of the men’s match between the Springboks and Italy for the second straight week.
The game will be available on TSN3 and TSN+.
Seumanutafa and Smith weren't the only two players from White Rock and South Surrey named to Team Canada.
Calixto Martinez, Izzak Kelly, Kyle Tremblay and Talon McMullin — all EMS alum and Bayside RFC players — have also been named to Canada’s men’s rugby team’s squad by head coach Stephen Meehan for July’s test matches in Edmonton.
Canada will play Belgium on Saturday (July 12) at 5 p.m. Mountain Time and Spain on Friday, July 18 at 7 p.m. MT, both at Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium. Both matches will also be available to watch on TSN2 and TSN+.
Visit rugbycanada.ca for more information.
