Following the official opening of the Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence yesterday in Langford, BC, a civic reception was hosted in conjunction with the municipality.
The reception was attended by all the centralized athletes as well as the staff and board of Rugby Canada and members of the Langford community, including members of council.
After hearing from Acting Mayor- Denise Blackwell and Provincial Minster of Sport- Ida Chong, two special presentations were made to the male and female 7s players of the year for 2011. Rugby Canada would like to congratulate the two winners, Ghislaine Landry and Sean Duke.
Presenting the award to Ghislaine Landry was head coach John Tait with board member and ex international Stephanie White.
Coach Tait said, "Ghislaine, was selected to her first senior national team, last February at the 2011 Vegas 7s. She has since started in every international both 7s and 15s and been one of the most consistent performers. Her skills, speed and agility combined with being a student of the game has seen her become not just one of Canada's best but a world class competitor. She is a self-less player and embodies the ethos of dedication and hard work."
The men's player of the year was presented to Sean Duke by head coach Geraint John and Chairman of the Canadian Rugby Foundation - Mike Holmes.
In his opening comments coach John said, "Sean has played a major role within the team and squad in 2011. He was selected and played in all the tournaments and consistently was a threat, scoring tries for all areas of the field.
Sean was also a member of the Pan Am squad where he played a vital role both on and off the field which culminated in the team winning the first ever Pan Am rugby gold medal for Canada."
In addition to the hardware, each player was awarded a cash bursary of $250.00 which was made possible by the Olympic 7s Fund managed by the Foundation.
The men's and women's 7s programs are proudly supported by Macquarie Financial, with the men additionally supported by associate sponsor Trafigura Ltd.
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