Canadian women's rugby 7s team looks to rebound from Commonwealth letdown

Editor's note: CBCSports.ca is live streaming every match from this weekend's women's World Rugby Seven Series event in Kitakyushu, Japan. Action begins Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET and continues through the gold-medal final Sunday at 4:30 a.m. ET. CBC TV's Road to the Olympic Games show also has coverage of the preliminary round Saturday at 4 p.m. ET and the final Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Here's Nigel Reed's preview of the tournament.

The women's World Rugby Sevens Series lands in Kitakyushu, Japan this weekend for the third event of the five-stop tour, with tournaments in Langford B.C., and Paris fast approaching.

• WATCH LIVE: Seven Series Kitakyushu

Twelve nations will battle it out, with New Zealand and Australia — the Commonwealth Games finalists — once again the teams to beat. 

Here's what to watch for, with a focus on the Canadian side: 

Canada tries to bounce back

The true mark of any good team is how it responds to adversity. We'll get a good idea of Canada's current rehabilitation in Japan. The Kitakyushu Sevens tournament comes hard on the heels of the Commonwealth Games, where Canada failed to reach its goals.

• Canada leaves Australia without rugby 7s medal — and looking for answers

When the going got tough, the Canadians were found wanting on the Gold Coast. A place on the podium was a realistic target, but John Tait's team failed to execute when it really mattered. They were well beaten by both New Zealand and Australia and finally dug themselves into an inescapable hole in the bronze-medal game against England.

Game Wrap: Canada falls to England in rugby 7s bronze medal match

7 years ago

Duration 1:40

Canada couldn't overcome an early 12-0 deficit, falling to England 24-19 in the women's rugby 7s bronze medal match at the Commonwealth Games

As their fellow Canadians left Australia dripping with 82 medals, the women's sevens team departed with only themselves to blame. 

Key contributor

When Canada's red tide is in full flow, Ghislaine Landry is never far from the central narrative. Approaching her 30th birthday, Landry is the leader and captain of a team that has experienced the rollercoaster of emotion synonymous with competitive sport.

• Landry, Canadian team want to do more than make history

Her scoring record is simply stellar. Her 41 points at Rio 2016 helped Canada win bronze in the first-ever Olympic women's sevens competition. Landry has amassed more than 900 points during her World Sevens Series career — a total simply unmatched by her rivals — and she's among a handful of women to have topped 100 tries.

Missing in action

There are always mitigating circumstances. Some might label them excuses, but any coach wants to put his strongest team on the field whenever possible. The absence of Jen Kish made that impossible for Tait at the Commonwealth Games.

The 29-year-old from Edmonton was key to Canada's success at the 2015 Pan Am Games and a year later at the Rio Olympics. A combination of neck and hip injuries ruled her out of the Commonwealth Games and this weekend's action in Japan.
  
It is reasonable to argue that, had Kish been available, Canada would have made the podium in Australia. Of course it's a moot point now, but a lack of Kish's influence and experience will not make the task any easier in Kitakyushu.  

Keys to success

Rugby 7s is specifically designed to be a brief, expansive and entertaining spectacle. At its very best, the sport demands two key elements. 

Pace and possession are paramount. You must have speed of thought and deed, and you have to be able to protect the football. A failure in either department often proves fatal. Turnovers can, and regularly do, turn games in the blink of an eye.

Discipline is also a key factor. As Canada found, to its ultimate cost, at the Commonwealth Games, a sin-bin infraction and two-minute penalty is akin to begging your opponent to score. When Landry was sent to the bench in the early stages of the bronze-medal battle, she must have feared the worst. England raced to a 12- point lead from which Canada never recovered.

Seven-on-six rugby is never a fair fight.  

The opposition

Defeat always leads to doubt. Canada has had less than a week to travel, regroup and recommit to the cause. It has been drawn in Pool C for the Kitakyushu Sevens and will face Fiji (Friday at 9:52 p.m. ET), England (Saturday at 12:36 .m. ET) and Russia (Saturday at 3:20 a.m. ET).

The Fijians are strong and brave but very beatable — in short, an early chance for the Canadians to restore their confidence. Next up, it's the rematch with England and an opportunity to avenge the bronze-medal loss. Revenge is never a recommended motivating factor, but Canada will be desperate to make up for missing the podium.

The pool finale against the Russians may well be decisive. Russia and rugby are two words you wouldn't expect to find in the same sentence — yet the Russians are among the best in Europe. Twice this season Canada and Russia have battled for bronze in the World Sevens Series, with a win apiece.  

Expectations

A year ago Canada finished as runners-up at the inaugural women's Sevens Series event in Japan. A repeat performance would go a long way to re-establishing their credibility on the global stage.

A lot depends on mental fortitude. This team has proved before it can compete with the best and it has earned a strong reputation in women's rugby. The Canadians need a couple of positive results to reclaim their confidence and self-belief. 

If Team Canada has learned its lesson and moved on from the Commonwealth Games, physically and psychologically, then a semifinal berth (and a shot at a medal) is not an unreasonable expectation.