At Queen’s, being on a varsity team is often characterized as being part of a family.
In the case of Chloe and Hannah Daniels, this rings especially true when your teammate is also your sister.
This season, Chloe Daniels, Comm ’25, joined her sister Hannah, Kin ’22, on the Queen’s women’s rugby team. The Journal sat down with both sisters to discuss how growing up together pushed them to be better rugby players and what it means to share the sport they love at Queen’s.
For Hannah— a fifth-year flanker and inside-center—playing alongside her younger sister brings nuance to the game.
“Obviously, my team is full of all my best friends. But seeing your sister there too is just something totally different,” she told The Journal.
“Looking across the field and seeing my sister, someone I’ve grown up with […], I feel like there’s a sister connection.”
This same sister connection helped drive Hannah and Chloe to success on the pitch, both at Queen’s and on the international stage with Rugby Canada.
In 2017, Hannah was selected for the under-18 Canadian squad and was also named to the under-20 National team in 2018.
This past September, Chloe competed with Rugby Canada’s senior women’s sevens team at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
In light of their respective accomplishments, both sisters humbly attributed their success to each other’s longstanding presence in training and practice.
“Throughout high school, we would lift together [and] run together. I think that helped us get better as players,” Hannah said.
Chloe, who plays fly-half and inside center, began playing rugby in grade six after seeing how much her sister enjoyed the game. She shared a similar sentiment regarding the benefits of her sister’s influence.
“The aspect of having someone else to play with essentially and do drills with and work with is fun. But I think we also push each other to become better because we competed with each other,” Chloe said.
“The sister competition kicks in sometimes even in warm-up,” Hannah mentioned. “We’re doing sprints and, I’m like, ‘Chloe let’s race on this one.’”
Both sisters were quick to note the competition between them is purely friendly, however, and is a manifestation of their overwhelming support for each other.
“We definitely are competitive with one another […] but all in fun,” Chloe added. “Like a supportive competition. We’re always happy for each other’s success.”
As the younger sibling of an already accomplished player, early on, Chloe looked up to Hannah’s work ethic and dedication to the sport. Not only did Hannah provide inspiration, but also a marker for what it would take to reach the next level.
“Hannah was off playing with Canada at U18 tours and tournaments, and I got to watch her go and travel to some really cool places with some really good players, and that was really cool,” Chloe said.
“Whenever I watched, I was like ‘wow, that’s really something I want to do.’”
When Hannah eventually went off to Queen’s, the stories Chloe heard about being a Gael solidified her decision to follow in her sister’s footsteps.
“Just knowing how much she enjoyed the team and the environment and the school as a whole definitely made me want to come here more,” Chloe said.
Although years apart, the Daniels sister’s path to Queen’s was nearly identical. Prior to coming onto the Gaels, they both spent time playing with the Aurora Barbarians Club, where they recall driving together to the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario in Toronto three to four times a week for Rugby Canada training opportunities.
While used to training together, this past season was the first time they had the opportunity to actually play on the same team.
The end of the Women’s Rugby season will wrap up in the coming weeks as the USports National Championship gets underway on Nov. 10.
According to Hannah and Chloe, it’s a tournament bound to be a special experience for the Daniels family.
“It’s really cool. I’ll be able to not only look over and see my parents in the stands but, I’ll also see my sister beside me,” Hannah said.
“It’s my last Nationals, and it’s her first Nationals, and it’s at Queen’s. So, it’s kind of coming full circle […] I’m finishing, and she’s just starting.”
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