Another Gael has shone on the international rugby stage.
From Sept. 4 to Sept. 6, Rachel Cullum, ArtSci ’27, helped Canada win the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Women’s Rugby Sevens Championship in South Africa. FISU is an organization in which national teams comprised of all the top university athletes compete against each other.
The Journal sat down with Cullum to talk about winning the championship, as well as her time in South Africa.
The team arrived a week early in South Africa to train at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport training facility, which Cullum believes allowed the team to “connect as a group” and gain an advantage over the other teams who “flew right into the competition.”
Canada’s first match was against Botswana, who they handled by a score of 70-0.
“They were definitely our easiest game,” Cullum stated on the match against Botswana. “We didn’t really know what we were, so that definitely gave us the confidence.”
Canada also beat Ireland on the same day to improve to 2-0 in the pool play.
The team’s third game against Australia didn’t go as well, as they blew a late lead and ended up falling by a score of 15-14.
“[Australia] scored in the dying minutes of the game, which was a heartache for us. So that was a bit of a setback,” Cullum said.
Canada still finished first in their pool by winning the tiebreaker. As a result, they got to play the hosting country South Africa in the quarterfinals, who they beat by a score of 24-14.
Canada then rematched against Australia in the semifinal, looking to avenge their loss against them during the pool play. They managed to come out ahead, beating them 19-14, to clinch their spot in the final.
“It was super satisfying to do what we couldn’t do in the first game. That was definitely a great moment in our tournament,” Callum said.
The team had no trouble against France in the final, dismantling them 20-0 to win the FISU Women’s Rugby Sevens Championship. As a fullback, Cullum was instrumental in helping Canada’s defense shutout against France.
Many players, including Cullum, were surprised when their head coach bought the team tickets to attend a match between South Africa and New Zealand’s national rugby teams on Sept. 5. At the game, the team also witnessed a controversial plane flyover above the stadium. It took place just before kickoff, and the airline has been critiqued for flying too low to the ground.
“There was this crazy flyover that happened which was super controversial, which we saw in real life,” Cullum said. “These two cargo planes flew over the stadium. It was very terrifying.”
At Queen’s, Cullum is an integral part of a dominant Gaels rugby team. Already 2-0 on the season with convincing wins, the fullback is looking to help Queen’s rattle off a seventh-straight undefeated season and repeat as OUA champions.
“The standard is so high that we’ve bred very great players, and the work ethic is top-notch. It’s been great going year by year and being able to have these victories” she said.
Already a champion on the international stage, Cullum is looking to help the Gaels become national champions this year.
Tags
Rugby Canada, Sevens Rugby, Women's rugby
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