Kamloops sports fans are going to get a chance to see the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's rugby seven's for the first time.
The fledgling program will make its home debut on Sunday (Oct 21).   The team will be one of three to participate in the university women's tournament as part of a big Rugby BC seven's tourney being staged at McArthur Island this weekend (Oct 20-21).

Derek Pue is back as head coach of the WolfPack program. " We are just starting to get our program off the ground. We have a lot of girls returning for this season.  We finished a series of early morning training sessions and are having our training camp."

He adds, " We are really looking forward to the tournament this weekend with both UBCO and Fraser Valley coming in. This will good for us to prepare. We struggle with getting grass time with the winter snow.  We want to get some game time in before we go indoors to prepare for our tournament season in the Spring (2019)."
Pue isn't surprised he has been able to get his team out for 6 am training sessions. " They understand we are trying to move this program forward. They are in on the ground floor. Last year was a revelation in terms of competition. They recognize that they have to put the work in if they want to be up with these national caliber athletes they are playing against."
The WolfPack are still looking for new players. Pue says he's been talking to and recruiting athletes from other sports. "Rugby seven's encompasses four or five other sports on the grass.  You see a lot of basketball players transitioning really well into rugby. Track athletes love rugby sevens because of the chance for them to 'turn and burn' on the grass. They transition really well.  We have three or four new players and nine returnees. We have a really strong base to move forward from where we were last year.  It is a big mountain to climb when you are talking playing against 'carded' national athletes but the girls know the task at hand and are ready for the challenge."

Pue and manager Jesse Olynyk not only run the WolfPack program but also a Rugby BC academy.  Both are enthused with the popularity of the sport-particularly the sevens taking off in Kamloops. " Canada winning the bronze the first time the sport was at the Olympics really fueled the appetite of people. Not too many people are aware that Kamloops is a leader in the number of female athletes that are coming out of here to play the sport both 15's and sevens with top teams. We have athletes at UBC, UVIC…there is a girl from Williams Lake who is on the national team. We are building a reputation in the Interior. We (TRU) think we can create a top program utilizing Interior based athletes and take our home grown talent to the USPORT level."

This weekend, UBCO, UFV and Thompson Rivers will play matches starting at 11:30 am at McArthur Island.

If there are any interested female athletes wanting to join the WolfPack program, contact Pue or Olynyk by emailing Rugby@tru.ca