It was an early Sunday morning start but the crowd that packed into the Capilano Rugby Club, 140 strong, were fired up to see some World Cup history.
Three of their own - Andrea Burk, Hilary Leith and Mandy Marchak - were in the starting lineup as Canada was taking on England in the final of the Women's Rugby World Cup. The seats were all full and a row of youngsters, none much more than five years old, sat right in front on floor cushions, paying rapt attention to the scenes playing out before them live from Stade Jean Boulais in Paris.
Canada started out well, taking it to England in the first 10 minutes of the game and grabbing the attention of even some seasoned rugby fans.
"Some of our senior guys were saying 'Holy crow, we didn't realize they hit that hard,'" said Capilano Rugby Club president Ken Robinson. "The women's game has changed a lot in the last 10 years."
The tide soon turned, however, as the experienced and hungry English - they lost in the final of the past three World Cups - slowly pulled away, building an 11-0 lead in the first half before Canada's Magali Harvey knocked in a pair of penalties on either side of halftime to cut it to 11-6. The teams then exchanged penalty kicks and Canada stayed close well into the second half but a fast and bruising run from Emily Scarratt - a dominant player throughout the game - sealed the win for England and ended the greatest World Cup run in Canadian rugby history one step short of the ultimate prize.
The mood mellowed inside the Capilano clubhouse as the time ticked down and it became clear that this was not Canada's year to reach the top of the world.
"Of course I was a bit disappointed," said Robinson. "In the previous game when we tied England (earlier in the tournament), we put a tremendous amount of pressure on their backfield and consequently caused some turnovers and errors and things, and this time they did the same thing to us. We had a few too many handling errors. Really we were in it right to the end."
Robinson gave credit to the English side for having a plan and executing it well.
"They were the stronger side on the day, I don't think there's any doubt about it," he said. "On the day they just had that little bit of edge."
Once the game was over, however, all that was left was an enormous amount of pride for the players and team. Club members were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that three of their own had played in the World Cup final, making up a full 20 per cent of Canada's starting lineup.
"For us it's just overwhelming to get those three on the team," he said. "That was absolutely spectacular. I know full well how much work they've had to put in. They all three have had to basically move to Victoria, give up their families, give up their jobs.. .. For them to get that high, through that amount of effort, I think is just outstanding. They're just great role models for the rest of our club. Two of my daughters are both playing club rugby at Cap and know those girls quite well. They're all personable, all humble. It's just really special for us."
All of Canada's games throughout the tournament were shown live on TSN or TSN2 and generated a lot of social media buzz. The run included the 13-13 opening round tie with England that sent them both to the semifinals as well as Canada's thrilling win over the host French team in the semifinals, making this the first Canadian team to ever play in a Rugby World Cup final. The win over France featured an incredible, 80-metre try from Harvey that was set up by passes from Marchak and Burk. The play ended up as TSN's Highlight of the Night.
After the final Marchak tweeted out her thoughts on the wild ride the Canadians had just been on.
"No we didn't win the World Cup, but I'm damn proud of what we have achieved together as a team. That being said, never settle!" she wrote. "Thank you Canada. We had a whole country and beyond that was behind us, that connection was felt over seas!" All of the publicity generated by the tournament might give the sport a nice little boost, said Robinson.
"You see what's happened to women's soccer with people like Christine Sinclair and that team doing as well as they did in the Olympics - that ignited soccer," he said. "I think this is going to have some of the same effects.. .. I think that being able to get the publicity from that game, to have the viewers appreciate what kind of skill and commitment these guys make, it's going to lift the game. I think we're going to see more youngsters, more girls coming down to the mini programs at the club."
This World Cup showing may just be the start of great things for the program, said Robinson, adding that the Canadian women are poised to contend for a medal when rugby sevens makes its Olympic debut in 2016 and should be strong contenders for the World Cup again four years from now.
"We've never been in the final, and to get that close - and in fact tying the winning team a week before - that definitely makes us No. 2 in the world. That's a tremendous accomplishment," he said. "It's just a great moment for Canadian rugby. I don't want to leave out the fact that it's a national team. I certainly take pride in what our (Capilano) girls did, but the whole national program has taken a huge step. It's just fabulous. I'm really proud of what they've done."
