Rugby players from all over the world will soon be touching down in B.C. for the Vancouver stop of the 2025 HSBC SVNS season, with a couple of Abbotsford athletes set to sport the classic Maple Leaf.
Rugby Canada recently announced the lineup for the Men's Sevens Team, which included local rugby stars James Thiel and Noah Bain.
This tournament includes teams from Japan, Brazil, Spain, Australia, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the Canadian host teams.
Thiel and Bain are looking to help Canada get back into the win column after the men's team took the Tier 1 title at the 2024 Rugby Americas North Sevens last fall.
For Bain, this tournament is following his recent signing of a short-term contract with MLR's New England Free Jacks.
The games take place at BC Place from Feb. 21 to 23, with the action kicking off at 11:18 a.m. on Friday and continuing through to approximately 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The Canadian men's team goes up against Trinidad and Tobago for the opening match, while the women's team has Brazil as their first opponent.
Men's Sevens Team head coach Sean White explained that Team Canada is up for the challenge and will be utilizing the diverse playing experiences of his athletes to his advantage.
"Since returning from RAN Sevens, we’ve had a lot of players in a lot of places. Being a decentralized training program has allowed us to encourage players not training in Langford to explore new endeavours, whether that be in the MLR or Europe or the ability to continue their studies," White said.
"This has also provided opportunities for us to run camps and identify new players to our sevens program. We’ve been in camp for about a week here in Langford and there's a real excitement and energy within the walls at the Al Charron Centre. I feel there's a good mix of size and speed, youthfulness, and experience."
While there's only one B.C. athlete on Team Canada's womens squad, nearly half of the men's team comes from various parts of the province.
The full men's team roster consists of:
• Rhys James (Kelowna, B.C.)
• James Thiel (Abbotsford, B.C.)
• Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, B.C.)
• Alex Russell (Bracebridge, Ont.)
• Noah Bain (Abbotsford, B.C.)
• Brenden Black (Oakville, Ont.)
• Ethan Hager (Brantford, Ont.)
• Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, Ont.)
• Jamie Armstrong (Ottawa, Ont.)
• Kyle Tremblay (White Rock, B.C.)
• Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, Alta.)
• Johnny Franklin (Bowen Island, B.C.)
• Kal Sager (Peterborough, Ont.)
• Elias Hancock (Ottawa, Ont.)
• Ben Greenstein (Vancouver, B.C.)
• Michael Laplaine-Pereira (Montreal, Que.)
For a full schedule, tickets, or more information about HSBC SVNS Vancouver, visit www.svns.com.
