U23 Men’s/Women’s Sevens Roster

It’s a sport that some don’t want to try, never mind thinking of giving it a shot, but others welcome the chance to play, regardless of the level.

BC Rugby has a recognized and respected game in which it is played in various areas and it simply doesn’t hurt when they host major event’s such as recent Pacific Nations Cup 2015 held at Swanguard Stadium in Burnaby.

BC Rugby is pleased to announce the rosters for the U23 Men’s and Women’s Sevens Rugby Teams that will be travelling to the Las Vegas Invitational tournament, taking place March 3rd to March 5th, 2016.

The Men’s Team will be entering the Aces Division, while the Women’s Team will be in the Open Division.

Following the Las Vegas Invitational, BC Rugby will be fielding Provincial U23 Men’s and Women’s Teams in the inaugural Vancouver Rugby Festival, taking place March 10^th to March 11th, 2016.

The rosters for those BC Rugby Teams will be announced closer to the event date.

The BC Rugby U23 Sevens Teams represent an ideal platform for players to sharpen their Sevens Rugby skills against high quality international opponents, with the goal of developing BC Rugby athletes for future National Sevens Team representation.

The Women’s U23 Team had an impressive debut at the 2015 edition of the Las Vegas Invitational, going undefeated through the pool stages of the Open Division before bowing out in the Cup Semi Final.

Five players from that squad are back for this year’s tournament, and it is expected that the team will contend in their division once again.

Demi Stamatakis will be one of the on-field leaders, drawing on her recent experience with Rugby Canada’s Fifteens development team in matches against England.

Stamatakis and her BC teammates will need to adapt to the change of pace between the two versions of the sport, with many names on the sevens squad being familiar ones from BC Rugby’s Senior and Age-Grade Fifteens Teams.

The Men’s Team will be tested in the Aces Division, which is a step up from the Open Division where the BC Team played in 2015, but the strong depth throughout the side should allow them to be very competitive at the higher level.

Team announcements for the Las Vegas Invitational are also pending for the BC Rugby U18 and U16 Teams, following a busy winter of training with BC Rugby’s Elite Youth Girls’ and Boys’ Sevens Programs.

Following Las Vegas, the BC Rugby U18 Boys and Girls Teams will be competing at Rugby Canada’s inaugural Canadian Rugby Sevens U18 Championships, while the U16 Teams will compete at the Vancouver Rugby Festival.

Schedules for the 2016 Las Vegas Invitational tournament were not available at the time of this release, but will later be posted to www.usasevens.com/las-vegas/las-vegas-invitational.

Thanks to BC Rugby communications Manager Brendan Munro and if you require more info contact him at bmunro@bcrugby.com