Rugby Canada names 14-player roster for Hong Kong rugby 7s tourney later this month
Taylor Perry has been named to Canada's team for the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, returning to the rugby sevens squad for the first time since winning silver at last summer's Paris Olympics.
Perry has been playing 15s rugby in England with the Exeter Chiefs. Exeter teammate Sabrina Poulin also returns for the first time since competing in Hong Kong last April.
The Hong Kong Sevens run March 28 to 30 at Kai Tak Sports Park.
The Canadian women, sixth in the overall standings after four events, have been drawn in Pool C with No. 2 Australia, No. 5 Japan and No. 12 Spain. New Zealand tops the table, winning in Cape Town and Vancouver and finishing runner-up to Australia in Dubai and Perth, Australia.
Canada finished eighth in Dubai, fifth in Cape Town, fourth in Perth and seventh last month in Vancouver.
Fourteen players will travel to Hong Kong, with 13 to be declared for the final roster ahead of competition.
Players have been moving between the sevens and 15s teams ahead of the remaining stops on the HSBC SVNS circuit and the Pacific Four Series and Rugby World Cup later this year in 15s play.
"We are excited to keep building on the foundations of our performances this season," Canada coach Jocelyn Barrieau said in a statement. "We will continue to support all of our teams and players in this monumental year for women's rugby in Canada, and look forward to seeing the return of multiple players to the international sevens stage in the brand-new Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong."
Carmen Izyk, who last played in Perth, returns from her 15s club team in France, Rugby Club Toulon Provence Mediterranee. Julia Omokhuale, who spent the season in England with the Leicester Tigers, and Vanessa Chiappetta from the University of