Following a loss to New Zealand to close out pool play, Team Canada is looking for a strong finish at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland.
Beaverton native Lori Josephson – who has started all three of the Canadian games thus far – is expected to back in the starting lineup when the team hits the pitch Tuesday (Aug. 22) for a rematch against Wales.
Canada opened the tournament with a 98-0 drubbing of Hong Kong Aug. 9, before dispatching Wales by a 15-0 score on Aug. 13 with Josephson scoring her first try in international 15s play.
“It’s been amazing but still feels a bit surreal,” she wrote The Brock Voice from following the first game against Wales.
“This is the biggest tournament for women’s rugby and it’s been my goal all along to make it here and play for Canada, not to mention scoring my first ever try in the jersey. And getting to play beside idols like (team captain) Kelly Russell, who I’ve looked up to for years, has just been the most amazing feeling.”
Though Josephson was hopeful the team could knock off the second-ranked squad from New Zealand to close out pool play, Canada came out on the short end of a 48-5 score and was bumped from medal contention.
Nevertheless, the team will be looking for a win against Wales Tuesday at noon to help secure a Top-5 finish.
A graduate of Brock High School, Josephson was a standout performer at the University of Western Ontario, where she was named to the Shiels Division all-star team three times and cracked the all-Canadian squad twice.
In 2014, her final season at Western, she led the team to a third-place finish in the nation championship tournament and was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) player of the year. Not surprisingly, Josephson was also named team MVP and was one of three nominees for Western’s Female Athlete of the Year. She was also nominated for the F.W.P. Jones Trophy, which is awarded to the female student athlete who has made the greatest contribution to intercollegiate athletics within the university.
Josephson was first named to the national team roster back in March for a two-game series against the U.S. that resulted in a pair of convincing wins for the Canadian squad.
She kept her spot for an exhibition tour to New Zealand in June, playing three games, and was officially named to the World Cup roster early last month.
