Canadian women's 7s team have Olympic dreams within their grasp
The path to the Tokyo Summer Games runs through Langford, B.C.
The script has been written. The players know their lines and we've all guessed the ending.
Only one thing left to do. Tie it all up with a great big red Canadian bow.
Except we're forgetting something — there is no script. If there were, there would be no point in watching and no need to be on the edge of our seats.
The fact is we want excitement. We crave that element of danger and unpredictability. We want a twist in the plot we didn't see coming. When we've been put through the emotional wringer – then, and only then, do we want the triumphant conclusion.
The scene is set perfectly for Team Canada. They have home advantage; a roster bang in form and high on confidence as they chase the Olympic dream.
The win in Japan attracted a new wave of fans ready to get behind this team. They may have jumped on the bandwagon a little late in the game, but Rugby Canada will take them. It needs all the support it can get.
WATCH | Ghislaine Landry scores on final play to win gold in Japan:
There is one more hurdle to jump. The Canadians need to execute on home soil. They don't have to win in Langford, B.C., this weekend (Friday, 1:22 p.m. ET, CBCSports.ca) to punch their tickets to Tokyo. They just need to keep France in the rearview mirror.
The top four teams at the end of the World Series season automatically qualify for the Tokyo Games. With just two tournaments left, the Canadians sit second overall in the standings, and have a 20-point lead over the fifth-place French.
But first things first – Canada needs to firing on all cylinders from the get go. Its pool games are all winnable but there are potential banana peels all over the field.
The Canadians should beat Brazil comfortably in their opener. The South Americans are making their first appearance of the season as an invitational team. Canada can expect plenty of possession and an opportunity to score early and often to erase any early nerves.
Thereafter, the hill gets steeper, quickly. Ireland may just be the most improved team in the women's World Series. They are beginning to turn heads at every tournament and in the dynamic Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, the Irish have a genuine game changer.
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe knows her way to the try line. <br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/IrishRugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IrishRugby</a> flyer has the second most tries this series with 23 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kitakyushu7s?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kitakyushu7s</a> <a href="https://t.co/hp0V7ir8iC">pic.twitter.com/hp0V7ir8iC</a>
—@WorldRugby7sCanada's pool finale will be pivotal. Australia arrives on the back of its worst showing of the season, and needs to rebound with a strong performance in Langford. The Canadians edged the Aussies 17-14 in pool play in Kitakyushu. Expect it to be close again.
If Canada can command its group, it controls its own destiny. The hosts don't want to finish runners up in their pool for that would likely lead to a quarter-final meeting with the Americans. A best-third result might also allow them to advance – and the probability of a monumental task against World Series leaders New Zealand.
Canada has the talent and the momentum. Expectations of this team are always high, and rightly so, but its track record at the Canada Sevens is patchy at best. Only once in four attempts has it made the podium at its own tournament.
The silver medal in 2017 at Langford seemed to signal a change of fortune. It was merely a false dawn. Last year the Canadians fell to the Americans in the knockout stages and were forced to settle for a disappointing fifth place.
Canada is not the only team aiming for Olympic qualification. All its rivals have exactly the same goal.
New Zealand's Black Ferns are not invincible. Their marathon winning streak came crashing down in Japan and I expect them to arrive in combative mood – determined to reassert their dominance in the women's game.
The Americans expect to be on the podium. The U.S. has missed only one this season and after finishing second at their own tournament, nothing would be sweeter than a first win of the campaign on Canadian soil.
But this is the Canada Sevens. Canada intends to be the star of its own show. There is a big pay off for this team, if it can do the simple things well, and hold its nerve.
I don't know what words Canadian coach John Tait will use to inspire his troops, but I humbly offer this advice: Eye on the ball – not on the prize.