Cheering on Canada 'bittersweet' for injured rugby star Sophie de Goede

VANCOUVER — Sitting on the sidelines hasn't been easy for Sophie de Goede.

Perched in the press box at BC Place on Sunday, the Canadian rugby star leapt from her seat every time her teammates appeared poised to make a big play against France at the WXV 1 tournament.

Six weeks out of surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament and with her knee locked in a large brace, de Goede should not be leaping — she simply can't resist.

“It’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling," she said of watching Canada compete. "But I’m honestly so excited to see where they’re taking the game while I’m out. And I just hope to be able to add when I get back here.”

De Goede missed a big moment in Canadian rugby this summer.

The 25-year-old from Victoria, B.C., was expected to be part of Canada's sevens squad at the Paris Olympics in July, but tore her ACL at a national team training camp before the Games.

With de Goede back home, Canada captured silver — the country's best-ever showing in the sport.

“I think that we often feel a little underestimated on the global stage in the rugby world. … To come out and do that at the Olympics, when the moment matters most, I think, just shows what an incredibly resilient and fiery group of women we have," de Goede said.

"They'll have made an affect on the rugby community in Canada that you'll see ripples of for years and years to come.”

Women's rugby is climbing in popularity around the world, she added, with more girls joining the sport and new professional clubs popping up across the globe.

Canada is currently ranked third in the world in women's 15s, but staying on top will require more investment.

“As women’s rugby ascends, we don’t want to get left behind just because we’re a smaller (rugby) nation," de Goede said.

Players for many of the top-ranked nations are paid annual salaries by their countries, she explained, while the Canadian teams get stipends for training camps and match fees for playing individual games.

Many players make money by playing for professional teams overseas, including de Goede, who plies her craft with Saracens in the U.K.

Hosting events like WXV 1 helps, de Goede said, by giving people a chance to see the game being played by the very best in the world. The tournament currently taking place in Vancouver features six of the world's top teams, including No. 1-ranked England.

"These (Canadian) women perform against the odds to a certain extent, compared to the resources that other nations get and just the size of the game in other nations," she said.

"And imagine how great our team could be if we really had the backing of more Canadian partners, had more young Canadians aspiring to play for the team, bigger crowds, etc. But you’ve got to start somewhere.”

WXV 1 is the start of Canada's preparation for next year's World Cup in England.

De Goede and her teammates finished fourth at the pandemic-delayed 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.

Ahead of that tournament, players quit jobs and lived out of suitcases with billet families to attend camps in Halifax and Victoria.

"We came so close against England in that semifinal game," de Goede said. "And if we could have even more time together earlier in the year, we would have hit our stride earlier in the World Cup campaign, or potentially before the World Cup campaign, so that we could really take off when it came to those middle rounds.

"So that's what I'd love to see in this World Cup cycle is just that time, time that we're able to invest together earlier in the cycle, earlier in the year."

With Canada preparing for WXV so close to her home this month, de Goede has had a chance to spend time with teammates.

Being around them has brought her spirits up during a difficult recovery process.

“Whenever I feel down, I have a good crew to lift me up and look after me," she said.

There's still ample work to be done, but de Goede is confident she'll be back on the rugby pitch with Canada before long.

“My mantra is just to come back Sophie 2.0, bigger, better stronger," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press