Starting with a bang
We saw the World Cup as a one long thing that we would build through. It (their first Pool B game, a 65-7 win v Fiji) was about building ourselves, building our confidence, getting some good game time, getting the nerves out... It felt good that first one, we were not very stressed and obviously Julia Schell (scorer of six tries) having a masterpiece-of-a-game really helped.
The mood has been evolving (since), but not changing, per se. We're building our confidence, we're building our group. Our group is very tight knit. We keep having fun. We keep making sure that we enjoy each other, and that's kind of a big part of what we want to do.
There is pressure we but we don't really want to invite unnecessary pressure within our bubble.
Really rugby is about the people and just having fun together, whether it's a meal, whether it's a dance, whether it's just some little moment that kind of comes out when you don't expect it. It's those little moments that keep it light, that keep it fun, and that's where you build a connection. Those moments are very precious.
Happy to be underdogs... or not
We don't really take what is being said on the outside to the inside. Whatever people have been saying, we don't care. It's out there. We are used to it. It's not new to us, but it doesn't affect our confidence. We also don't really want to use it as fuel, because it's not important to us.
For us, it's about the people that believe in us, the friends, the family, the people at home. That's more what fuels us, and that's more confidence building. And we just hope that there's more and more people in Canada that can see the game, that can have access to the game. That's where our outward focus is.
The fact that we as an organisation had to fundraise has not really ever been put on the players themselves. For us, the focus has always been we need to do the best we can with whatever we have.
The organisation has done a very good job to make sure that we get everything that we need. There's not a lot of extras but quite honestly, we're here to to play in this World Cup and do the best we can and hopefully win the whole thing.
The last dance
The nerves are going to be there. But there's a lot of experience in this team, people that have played in big games, there's a few of us that were there in 2014 (RWC Final in which Canada lost to England) some of us have played in finals and bronze finals of Olympic Games.
So, we know that the nerves are going to be there, but pressure is a privilege, and we just embrace it. Because when we get on the field, then we don't feel them, they are just going to fuel our body.
For me to come back to this team after a little bit of time off is is very special, because I came back exactly for this. I came back to be part of the greatest tournament that there's ever been, and to be part of that winning culture, that fun rugby.
For me, it's a big, big privilege, and I just hope that our sport in Canada will just get a little bit bigger and take a bigger piece of the sporting landscape. I often say that Canadian people love rugby, they just don't know it yet.
