Velox winger Jess Dovanne started in the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup final in France on Sunday, as Canada lost a dramatic match to England, 21-9.
Second place is Canada’s highest achievement at the WRWC, a massive improvement on past finishes of fifth and sixth place.
Dovanne, 28, played at UVic in 2005 before moving to Velox where she won multiple provincial club championships with the Velox Valkyries premier women’s team, based in Saanich. Former Vike Brittany Waters, 31, started in place of Dovanne in the semifinal versus France. Waters was a Vike from 2001 to 2005.
Dovanne and Waters have also appeared for Canada’s rugby sevens team and are Olympic hopefuls when rugby union’s short code debuts at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
reporter@saanichnews.com