Tait confident Canada closing the gap
Hot on the heels of New Zealand and Australia, Canada have been the nearly-women of the Women's Sevens World Series this season, having finished third in both rounds so far. We spoke to head coach John Tait, who is preparing his side to try and break up the dominating southern hemisphere duopoly ahead of the third round in Atlanta this weekend.
Published by Alison Donnelly, March 9th, 2015
4 minute read
First off Tait says he feels the series has stepped up another level this year, with the expansion of core teams and additional tournaments adding another layer of competitiveness.
“This season is definitely the most competitive yet as you would expect with Olympic qualification at stake. The gap between all the teams continues to shrink with each event and the quality of play continues to grow.”
Although Canada will be frustrated not to have reached a final this year yet, they are well on track to secure the points they need to secure a spot for the Olympics next year with the top four teams from this year's competition securing an automatic spot.
Given the added pressures that adds, impressively Tait has continued to mix his squad up with three changes again this weekend. Brittany Benn and Natasha Watcham-Roy will both make their series debuts and the third change sees Elissa Alarie return to the squad, having missed the last round due to injury.
“We try and use development tours to get more game time for those needing it outside our top line-up but we have used the series to measure various players this season. These changes are not about rotation but about who is consistently performing in our training environment and development tournaments and camps leading into selection for each series event.”
While finishing third can often be a bitter pill to swallow, Canada’s aims are set high over the next year.
“This is definitely the tightest group we have had together but also with the highest level of competitiveness within it. These players aren't just happy to be in the programme but want to win at the Olympics and will do whatever it takes to achieve that. We need to continue to get better at every area across the board to stay and get ahead of the pack.”
As for New Zealand and Australia’s dominance, he adds his side are not far away at all from the top two.
“It will happen because us and other teams are closing the gap and learning how to play each other better with every tournament. Specifically against those two, we have to limit our turnovers, they are both too good on attack to give them any more time with the ball.
Tait is also well placed to give a view of the development of the World Series, having been in the job for some years and he is pleased with how World Rugby have grown the tournaments while also recognising there is more to do.
“On-field, the play is getting better each stop and I believe it will attract more and more supporters as the Olympics approach. Off- field the organisrs are getting better at making these events the spectacle it should be and looking after the teams needs better than ever”
“Things could always get better and I think continuing to pair the events alongside men's stops when possible is a no brainer in terms of creating more exposure. I would like to see them implement doing the draws for next tournament during the current one, like the men, it generates more interest and gets the teams looking ahead and preparing as soon as possible.”
Seeherefor our preview of round three of the World Series next weekend