VANCOUVER, B.C. –
Alex Russell, a McGill University graduate, gained more international experience playing for Canada over the weekend when he started in all five games and scored one try at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, March 3-5.
It marked the 200th men's tourney in the history of the Series, which dates back to 1999-20.
Originally from Chichester, England, located about 117 kilometres southwest of London, the 26-year-old Russell graduated from McGill in 2018 with a bachelor of arts degree, majoring in economics. A 6-foot-2, 207-pound fly-half, he made his debut for Canada in 2021 at an HSBC Sevens Series tourney in Vancouver, B.C. Over the current season, he is 10th on the team in scoring (15 points in 23 games) and seventh in tackles (36). During Russell's three seasons with the national sevens program, he has earned 68 career caps, while registering 18 tries and 90 points.
Canada opened with a 35-5 loss to Ireland, followed by a 29-12 victory over Australia, a 35-7 win over Chile, a 19-14 loss to Spain and a 31-14 playoff round setback to South Africa. The men's final was won by Argentina, the second year in a row that the Argentinians have claimed the tourney cup in Vancouver, winning by a score of 33-21 over France.
Russell is the third product of the McGill men's rugby program to play for the Canadian senior national team, joining
Julian Loveday and
Jon Phelan.
Loveday was born in Jamaica and raised in England before moving to Calgary, Alta.. He graduated with a commerce degree in 1984. During his time at McGill, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound winger and fullback served as team captain, volunteered as an assistant coach and helped organize a playing tour of England. After a stint with the Canadian junior team (1982), he played with the national sevens program (1989-1998) and had 10 caps with the national senior 15-man squad (1993 to 1999).
Phelan, a native of Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Que., earned his first international cap in 2010 and played five seasons for Canada. He graduated with a civil engineering degree in 2009, then served as an assistant coach at McGill while beginning a master's degree in structural engineering, which he completed in 2016.
Four other McGillians have played for Rugby Canada at the men's junior level, namely
Samuel Skulsky (BSc '13),
Kyle Buckley (BCom '12) and
Alastair Crow (BSc '10), who each played for the national under-20 squad in 2008-09 and
Anthony Nestel, who studied international management from 2006 to 2010, and was part of the U-19 and U-17 teams.
The next event on tap for Canada is the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong, March 31 to April 2, followed by stops in Singapore, Toulouse and London. The Series consists of tournaments held around the world in which national sevens teams compete for points and a championship. The top four ranked men's teams will earn Olympic qualification for Paris 2024.
CANADA'S MEN'S HSBC VANCOUVER SEVENS ROSTER (Mar. 3-5, 2023)
| Name |
Club / CRC |
Hometown |
| Phil Berna |
Vancouver Rowing Club |
Vancouver, BC |
| Callum Botchar |
Pacific Pride |
Vancouver, BC |
| D'Shawn Bowen |
Pacific Pride |
Toronto |
| Cooper Coats |
Halifax Tars |
Halifax, NS |
| Jarvis Dashkewytch |
University of Victoria |
Tsawwassen, BC |
| Elias Ergas |
Univ. of British Columbia |
Vancouver, BC |
| Dawson Fatoric |
Pacific Pride |
Ottawa, Ontario |
| Thomas Isherwood |
Foothills Lions RFC |
Okotoks, Alberta |
| Lachlan Kratz |
New Orleans Gold |
Victoria, BC |
| Josiah Morra |
Toronto Saracens |
Toronto, ON |
| Anton Ngongo |
Castaway Wanders |
Victoria, BC |
| Matthew Oworu |
Pacific Pride |
Calgary, Canada |
| Brennig Prevost |
University of Victoria |
Victoria, BC |
| David Richard |
Mississauga Blues RFC |
Milton, ON |
| Alex Russell |
McGill University |
Chichester, England |
| Kal Sager |
Peterborough Pagans |
Trent Lakes, Ontario |
| Jake Thiel |
Abbotsford RFC |
Abbotsford, BC |
| Josh Thiel |
Bishop Burton College |
Abbotsford, BC |
| Brock Webster |
Oshawa Vikings |
Uxbridge, ON |
|
|
|
| HEAD COACH (interim): |
Sean White |
|
| STRENGTH & CONDITIONING: |
Sebastian Pearson |
|
| ATHLETIC THERAPIST: |
Andrew McMillan |
|
| ANALYST: |
Richard Andrews |
|
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)
