Kaitlyn Richard realizes there’s still plenty to learn about rugby.

And she’s hoping last week’s performance in Regina opens the door to some higher education.

Thrust into the role of forward for the first time in her competitive career, the 19-year-old Miltonian says she has a newfound appreciation for the game — having seen it from a “whole new perspective.”

That vantage point was certainly favourable, as Richard and her Ontario Storm U20 women’s development squad reigned supreme at the three-team national championships.

The Storm swept its double round-robin campaign against B.C. and the Prairie Wolf Pack in rather decisive fashion — winning each of their four games by no less than 10 points and punctuating the tournament with a 43-12 rout of B.C. Sunday.

Richard contributed a second-half try in the national finale — scoring on a 30-yard break to help put Ontario into bonus-points territory and clinch the championship — and earned a start in two contests plus playing time in another.

“I was happy with how things went out there,” said the local rugby standout, who represented her country at the U18 level last summer in women’s sevens at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, where Canada finished second to the powerhouse Australians. “It was definitely another great learning experience and I think playing forward will give me more options in terms of where they (provincial or national programs) can use me and just in what I feel comfortable with.”

Noted Storm head coach Pete Hercus, “Kaitlyn possesses excellent speed and attacking flair. I think with continued focus and an attention to the fundamentals, she’s capable of moving forward.”

Evidence of that presented itself earlier this week. Following her solid showing at nationals, Richard was named to the 57-player long list for Canada’s U20 team — hoping to make the 24-player final cut in about two weeks and earn a trip to Ellensburg, Washington for the Can-Am Cup August 19 to 22.

An immediate natural in rugby — earning a spot on the U16 Ontario team a mere three months after taking up the sport at Bishop Reding Secondary School — Richard headed to Regina with no shortage of motivation.