Looking to qualify for the women’s international 15s rugby tournament (WXV), Queen’s alum, Sophie de Goede, is leading Canada’s team to greater success.
In July, de Goede and her teammates on the Rugby Canada Women’s XV team will be kicking off against Australia and New Zealand on home soil in Ottawa, as part of the Pacific Four Series Tournament.
This tournament is an opportunity for her team to become the first Canadian 15s team to beat New Zealand. In order to qualify for the WXV tournament, Canada must come out of this tournament in the top three.
Recently named captain of the Canadian team, the opportunity to compete in this tournament caps off a long list of achievements for de Goede. As a dual-sport athlete in her time at Queen’s, de Goede was named in the Top 8 Academic All-Canadians for the 2019-20 season when she played on the women’s rugby and basketball teams.
When raving about the support she received during her athletic career, she credited her parents as her biggest supporters.
“They were both elite athletes themselves, and so having the opportunity to learn from them…[and having them] be there as guidance when needed has been huge,” she said.
De Goede emphasized her time at Queen’s played a major role in her athletic development.
“Trying to do both sports at Queen’s could only be done with the support of teammates and coaches and the Athletics and Recreation staff,” she said.
“Having those types of coaches and those types of teams and the opportunities to work on leadership taught me so many valuable lessons,” she said. “I actually feel like my experience in University set me up really well to take the next step.”
In the upcoming tournament, de Goede will compete alongside her current partner, Emma Taylor.
“I think it’s a really unique opportunity to be able to play on the national team with your partner and have your person there at all moments of the day,” she said.
“There are some great days—and it’s cool to celebrate that with your partner—but there are some hard days and it’s nice to have that person there that you can go chat to.”
De Goede and Taylor celebrated their two-year anniversary on April 10.
In an Instagram post from Jan. 1, 2022, Taylor recounted the year previous sharing gratitude for various rugby and general life moments.
“Thank you for bringing me the most beautiful human and the best friend that I could ask for. I’d go through this all over again to end up right here with you,” she wrote in the caption, tagging de Goede.
De Goede and Taylor will face off against New Zealand on July 8 and against Australia on July 14. Both games will be held at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. Fans looking to buy tickets to the tournament can purchase them on Ticketmaster.
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