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After disappointing fifth- and sixth-place finishes the last two years on home soil, the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team looks to impress this weekend in Langford, B.C.

“We chose Langford as the event that we wanted to target,” coach John Tait said.

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“This year I think we’re just a little bit more mature as a group,” he added. “I think we’re a stronger (squad of) 12 than we’ve ever been. We’ve got more depth across the board even though we’re younger.”

The first two editions of the home tournament have been disappointing. Canada went 3-0-0 on Day 1 both times but then lost in the Cup quarter-final.

“Some hard lessons. Hopefully we’ve learned from them,” said Tait. “I think Year 1 we were a bit over-excited and it cost us in the quarter-final against England (in a 12-5 loss).”

Tait blames himself for last year’s quarter-final collapse against France, saying he took out “the spine of the team” some 30 seconds too early. The French rallied from 12-0 down in the last two minutes to win 14-12.