Canada Women Face Tough Ask v. England
Friday Aug 21, 2009 in Canada National Team - Women
Stung by their Wednesday night loss to the USA, Canada’s women’s team are preparing to face England Saturday in the final match of the Nations Cup.
England have already wrapped up the title, but remain heavily favored over the host nation.
The Nations Cup tournament may seem slightly unrealistic with so many quality internationals scheduled so close together, but Canada’s head coach John Long sees the value of being able to quickly turnaround physically and mentally.
“From a coaching perspective, the value of a tournament like this comes from having players being put under international duress to see how they perform. There’s always an inclination to select the strongest side and not give every player an opportunity to perform, but with this sort of schedule we have to manage our players. “
Long has a lot of respect for England and knows the Canada will face a certain challenge in their final match of the 2009 Nations Cup.
“England always set themselves apart, they don’t make mistakes. If we make mistakes, nine times out of 10 England will capitalize on it. We have to retain possession, if we don’t, we’re going to make it very difficult for ourselves on Saturday.”
The Nations Cup will move venues for the final matches of the tournament from gracious Appleby College in Oakville to Fletcher’s Fields in Markham. France and the USA have the early game at 2pm, before Canada kicks off against England at 4.30pm.
Canadian Roster for Saturday
1. Leslie Cripps (Saracens)
2. Leslie McKenzie (UBCOB Ravens)
3. Tabitha Stavrou (Irish Canadians)
4. Marie-Eve Brindamour-Carignan
5. Megan Gibbs (Irish Canadians)
6. Heather Jaques (Capilano RFC)
7. Gillian Florence (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC)
8. Kelly Russell (Toronto Nomads)
9. Laura Stoughton (Calgary Irish)
10. Brooke Hilditch (Yeomen Women’s RC)
11. Cheryl Philips (Toronto Scottish RFC)
12. Sarah Ulmer (Saracens)
13. Maria Gallo (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
14. Julianne Zussman (Town of Mount Royal RFC)
15. Ashley Patzer (Lethbridge RFC)
16. Kim Donaldson (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
17. Marlene Donaldson (Velox Valkyries)
18. Paige Burdett (Calgary Irish)
19. Jen Kish (Edmonton Rockers)
20. Barbara Mervin (Velox Valkyries)
21. Julia Sugawara (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
22. Brittany Waters (Meraloma)
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