Canada captain Sophie de Goede turns heads ahead of Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

“I think a lot of kids maybe would come home to cartoons or hockey or something on the TV. I’m really lucky that I would come home to international test matches that had been taped and were ready to watch,” Sophie recalled. “We were at the James Bay (Athletic Association) clubhouse every weekend growing up. I played mini (rugby) at the Castaways club. So it was always rugby on the weekend and often rugby on the weeknights.

“If we didn’t want to go to rugby, I was definitely not forced to. But just growing up with it I kind of fell in love with it.”

The third-ranked Canadians open Pool B play against No. 13 Japan on Saturday night (Sunday afternoon New Zealand time) in Whangarei before facing No. 5 Italy on Oct. 15 and the sixth-ranked U.S. on Oct. 22, both in Auckland.

The 12-country tournament was originally slated to run from Sept. 18 to Oct. 16 last year but was postponed due to the pandemic. It is now scheduled to run through Nov. 12.

A former fly half and scrum half turned backrower, the six-foot de Goede brings a lot to the table. An effective ball-carrier and tough tackler, she also serves as Canada’s long-range placekicker and is a weapon at lineouts.

“She’s incredibly well-rounded,” said Queen’s University women’s rugby coach Dan Valley. “To steal the baseball analogy, she is in every way shape or form a five-tool player. And that was evident from an early age.

“You just had to watch her rip around a park for 30 minutes or an hour and you got a sense of what she was capable of.”

Valley first got to see de Goede play for the B.C. under-16 team at the age-group nationals in Ottawa and worked with her on the Canadian under-18 team.

They went on to win a national title together at Queen’s, where Valley got to see firsthand de Goede’s leadership, work ethic and understanding of the game.

“There was never any doubt that she would be the hardest-working player on the field, at a training session or in the weight room,” said Valley. “Pick any context. Even extend that into the academic life of student-athletes — she was always working incredibly hard and raising the bar for our squad.

“And then from an on-field perspective, she didn’t talk often but any time she spoke, she had everybody’s ear. And that’s part of what made it so effective.”

Canada coach Kevin Rouet handed de Goede the captaincy this summer.

“She’s young … but she is a very talented player. She’s a good leader,” said Rouet.

While de Goede has just 14 caps, she has veterans around her including former captain Laura Russell (53 caps), Tyson Beukeboom (50 caps) and Olivia DeMerchant (49 caps).

Veteran flanker Karen Paquin calls de Goede “a big X-factor.”

“I think she’s really going to grow into that captaincy role,” said Paquin, a 32-cap veteran who is taking part in her third World Cup.

“She was kind of made for rugby, she was made obviously for this team,” Paquin added. “The stars are just aligned for her. So I really wonder where it’s going to take her, but I’m quite certain that it’s going to be an awesome journey for her in the rugby world.

“She’s young but she’s got so much potential, so much to give.”

When the pandemic closed down rugby at home, de Goede and many of her Canadian teammates went abroad to play rugby. De Goede joined England’s Saracens along with fellow Canadians Mackenzie Carson, Alex Ellis, Emma Taylor and Allysha Corrigan. It allowed them to continue their rugby education while getting a better sense of the world game.

“The club does a really good job of holding itself to a (high) standard,” de Goede said of Saracens. “The ultimate goal is to win. They do that really well as an organization.”

De Goede’s pre-kick routine is reminiscent of Saracens and England star Owen Farrell.

De Goede returned to Canada last year to finish her degree and return to action with Queen’s. She has since graduated with a degree in commerce, missing out on her June graduation ceremony while with Canada at the Pacific Four Series in New Zealand.

Law school is an option “potentially later on in life.” Rugby beckons for the time being, with de Goede — never one not to have anything less than a full calendar — also looking to get some experience in the business world over the next couple of years.

De Goede was a two-sport athlete at Queen’s, also excelling at basketball as a small/power forward.

“Basketball was awesome and I really enjoyed it. I think it transferred very well to my rugby,” she said. “But rugby’s just taken off for me a bit, so I think this and hopefully finding a career along the way as well will be my main focuses moving forward.”

“However, if anyone ever wants to play pickup, I’ll be the first one there. I miss it already,” she added with a chuckle.

Her sports and academic demands made for full days at Queen’s. De Goede would usually work out in the morning prior to class before attending afternoon basketball practice from 3:30 to 5:30 and then rugby practice 5:30 to 7:30.

“There was some overlaps in the seasons and we would work with the coaches to make sure that the practices themselves didn’t overlap and I was able to go to both every day,” she explained.

De Goede led the Queen’s Gaels to their first-ever U Sports rugby title last November on home turf, defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees 26-18 to lift the Molinex Trophy at Nixon Field. De Goede, who was named U Sports Women’s Rugby Player of the Year two days earlier, also won tournament MVP honours after scoring a try, convert and two penalties in the championship game.

De Goede and Queens had finished runner-up to the Laval Rouge et Or in the 2019 title decider, losing 22-14. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic.

In May, de Goede was named winner of the Lois and Doug Mitchell U Sports Athlete of the Year Award, formerly known as the Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG) and Howard Mackie Awards. Waterloo Warriors quarterback Tre Ford, now with the CFL’s Edmonton Elks, was the men’s winner.

On the basketball front, De Goede helped Queen’s to a bronze medal at the U Sports championship in April. It was the Gaels’ first medal in five appearances at the Women’s Final 8, surpassing their previous-best fourth-place finishes, in 2001 and 2017.

De Goede was named a second-team OUA East Division basketball all-star in leading the OUA in rebounding at 12.1 per game while averaging 9.8 points. She was named OUA Female Athlete of the Year and the PHE ’55 Alumnae Award winner as Queen’s Varsity Teams Female Athlete of the Year.

Canada captain Sophie de Goede turns heads ahead of Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

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