Jocelyn Barrieau to take over Canadian women's rugby sevens side after Paris Olympics

Assistant coach Jocelyn Barrieau will take charge of Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team following the Paris 2024 Olympics, Rugby Canada announced Monday.

The governing body had previously announced that Jack Hanratty would step down after this summer's Olympics to take over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s team.

Barrieau joined the sevens squad as an assistant coach in May 2023 from Concordia University’s women’s rugby team.

Rugby Canada said Barrieau was chosen by its high-performance staff and Own the Podium prior to the Olympics to "ensure stability and facilitate strategy planning for the women’s sevens program following Paris 2024."

The Canadian women currently stand fifth in the HSBC SVNS season standings after six events.

They have been drawn in a pool with No. 1 New Zealand, the fourth-ranked U.S. and No. 8 Britain in the season's grand final that starts Friday at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

While the women take part in a "winner-takes-all" eight-team competition in Madrid to decide the series champion, the Canadian men will be fighting to remain in the world sevens series.

Canada, currently at the bottom of the 12-team men's standings, will join the ninth-place U.S., No. 10 Spain and No. 11 Samoa and the winning teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series — Chile, Germany, Kenya and Uruguay — in a relegation playoff to decide four core teams in 2025.

The Canadian men will face Germany, Uruguay and the U.S. in Pool A in Madrid.

The Canadian women qualified for the Paris Olympics by blanking Mexico 53-0 last August in the final of the 2023 Rugby Americas North Sevens.

The Canadian men are headed to a last-ditch Olympic qualifier June 21-23 in Monaco.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2024.