FEATURE Peaking to perfection: how Canada plan to conquer Paris

If sporting narratives are successions of peaks and troughs, the fortnight spanning May 19 to June 1, 2024, was a period of Mount Logan-proportions for Canadian women’s rugby. 

It encapsulated 14 days of towering performance: an arresting pinnacle within a range that hasn’t been without earlier dizzying heights – from a historic spot in the 2014 XVs World Cup final to a brilliant bronze in Rio. 

Over two weeks, the women in red beat the Black Ferns in both formats of the game – firing a warning shot through rarefied air, and across the bows of the rugby world. There’s an art to peaking when it matters most, and the snow’s settling a dream right now, with the Olympics within touching distance.

Canada’s Women’s Sevens rugby team secured a 4️⃣th place finish in the HSBC SVNS Grand Final 🇨🇦

🎥: @SVNSSeries pic.twitter.com/MO9K5lCQJy

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) June 2, 2024

Cold climes were an alien concept earlier this month, though, as they sweated through camp in California. 

“San Diego was wonderful,” double Olympian Charity Williams enthused, from a treatment table. “So warm. Too warm, some might say…” 

With Chula Vista’s Elite Athlete Training Centre at their disposal, they honed all the usual assets – power, pace, robustness, and conditioning – but the most invaluable improvements were less tangible.

“All the work is done,” Williams said, “so there are maintenance pieces and little fixes to make, but – really – it’s all about cohesion. Now we’ve our Olympic squad in place, we’re together 24/7, even when we’re not supposed to be, which ensures we’re all on the same page as we head to Paris. We genuinely love being together, which you can see on the field. This group is really special.”

Captain Olivia Apps elaborated, explaining how proud they are of their synergy – nurtured at post-training lake trips or dinner at one another’s homes, and drawing upon their ‘very natural chemistry’. 

“It bleeds into everything we do,” she said.

“It feels easy now, and utterly seamless, but it’s taken a lot of intentional work. We’ve had social committees, time put in place, and budget assigned, plus coaches who really pride themselves on this team’s culture.”

With the most prestigious prize still up for grabs, 2024 has been a busy one for the Maple Leafs’ record books – into which they’ve thrust sizeable scalps and a Pacific Four title – plus Carissa Norsten’s Rookie of the Year gong. 

I get called The Millennial every now and then, and sometimes catch myself asking what certain things mean

The teenager announced her arrival on the series with a golden-point screamer against USA on debut in Dubai, and has continued to churn out wonder scores and stunning defensive interventions, in a blur of auburn curls. 

She’s not the only tyro to have captivated in Canadian colours. Chloe Daniels is 21, as is double Dream Teamer Krissy Scurfield, while Piper Logan feels like part of the furniture at the tender age of 22. 

Apps’ effortless ability to flick between cool authority and fiery motivator belies the fact she’s only 25. At just 27, Williams is the elder stateswoman. ‘Isn’t that crazy?’ she chuckled. 

Does she ever detect a generational gap between her and the nippers? “I get called The Millennial every now and then, and sometimes catch myself asking what certain things mean, but nothing significant: we have so much fun together.”

Apps added: “We all have our moments! There’s a solid group of Gen-Zs, and they ensure we’re well aware of that… If you make yourself look old, you’re getting roasted immediately.”

It’s no bad thing, she insisted. “It’s exciting! By 2028 and 2032, I can’t even imagine how connected and skilled this group is going to be.”

Williams can empathise with the youngsters entirely, having competed in Rio as a teenager. She completed a settled squad boasting Canadian rugby royalty like Ghislaine Landry and Karen Paquin, who headed to Brazil expecting to reach the podium, and duly delivered. 

“Things were just very connected,” she said. “The team, environment, and coaches, and everything seamlessly transitioned through to the bronze medal match. In the changing room beforehand, the whole sentiment was ‘we win these games all the time: this is no different’. 

“We went out there and did exactly what we knew. I was the rookie. I scored one try, and it wasn’t really my Games or my job to bring that home for everyone, but the core of that squad achieved something truly special in capturing bronze for Canada.”

How does she reflect on Tokyo, then, when they exited at the pool stage? “We all felt fantastic, and then Covid happened. We had to take months and months off, which isn’t great for any team, and the political landscape saw the backdrop change, too.”

It was a seismic shift of focus, from putting out performances which had seen Canada reach three of the last four finals pre-pandemic, to speaking passionately before thousands at a Peace Rally for Black Lives in Victoria’s Centennial Square. Their ninth-place finish is just one thread of the immensely complex tapestry of that time.

Williams said, with care: “It’s hard to talk about. There were so many factors in play, but I honestly think that – if we’d rolled straight from the series into the Olympics without those things happening – we’d have come away with the gold.

“That’s not how the chips fell, though, and I feel truly grateful to get another opportunity, with this special and talented team, who’ve worked so hard. 

“When this particular group started, nobody really knew what a professional rugby environment was. Now? We’ve been in podium games multiple times, won bronze at our home tournament, and then finished fifth overall. 

The cohesion, the confidence, the support: it’s all there, and that’s the exact recipe to do well in Paris.

“We’re building, and everything is falling into place at the perfect time – exactly how it’s supposed to. The cohesion, the confidence, the support: it’s all there, and that’s the exact recipe to do well in Paris.”

In pulling together words to encapsulate the Toronto-born speedster, ‘impact’ would surface immediately: she’s a guided missile with ankle-snapping capabilities, and a scintillating killer instinct, ball-in-hand. 

She opened the scoring in their famous victory over the Black Ferns in Madrid – ending a 27-game losing streak against the Olympic Champions – and then did so again against the Kiwis in their bronze medal encounter, notching the collector’s item of skinning Michaela Blyde in the process. 

They would lose that match, but the previous day’s pool stage win was seismic: it gave Apps’ women Scalp Bingo for 2024, meaning they head to Paris knowing they can beat every team in the competition. 

Right before Rio 2016, Canada toppled Australia in Clermont-Ferrand. “It left us feeling like we could conquer the world,” Williams recalled. “Single results can prove enormous sometimes, and Madrid proved to us that we can take on anyone.”

They’ll have to – they’ve two Tokyo medalists in their pool, along with the Challenger Champions. 

Their captain’s not fussed in the slightest. “As they say: if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Getting another run around with New Zealand is brilliant, Fiji are always such a good challenge, and China are thrilling to watch, aren’t they? 

“We’re looking forward to three high-quality contests, which we’ll need if we’re to move into the knockouts with momentum. I honestly think it’s the ideal scenario.’

The pair’s eagerness to get to the French capital is palpable. Apps is bouncing to experience the opening ceremony and buzz of the city, after Tokyo’s restrictions, while Williams is hellbent on receiving a shout-out from Drake, or orchestrating an encounter with Snoop Dogg, who’ll be there commentating for NBC. 

But that kid-at-Christmas enthusiasm evaporates instantly when talk turns to on-field ambitions. 

The skipper and playmaking fulcrum doesn’t hesitate. “An Olympic medal. That’s the concrete goal. I know our team can do it.”

“I second that,” agreed one of their most lethal strike weapons – I believe wholeheartedly that this team can walk away with a medal. I’m so excited for this journey with this group of girls, and truly believe it could end with gold.”

It’s a decorated programme, in what’s already a wonderful 2024. But – without doubt – the top step of that Parisian podium would be Canada’s loftiest peak yet.