The British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU) announced the provincial women’s team that will compete at the National Women’s League Finals in Ottawa this week.

The 24-member squad includes two former Merritt Secondary School players who starred for the Panthers during their high school rugby careers.

Twenty-seven-year-old Emily Young will play at the fullback position for the B.C. representative team, while Haley Glendinning, 23, will line up as a forward.

Both players are currently playing Division 1 club rugby for Burnaby Lake RC in Vancouver.

Each of the five provincial teams taking part in the NWL Finals will play a total of four games over six days at Twin Elms Rugby Park in the nation’s capital.

B.C. plays the defending champions from Quebec on July 29, the Prairies on July 31, Atlantic Canada on August 2 and Ontario on August 3.

The NWL Finals are a key pathway to the senior women’s national program according to Team BC head coach Dean Murten. He went on to add that because Canada’s national side is currently in Paris attending the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup, it has opened up a number of roster spots at this year’s NWL Finals for younger players to prove themselves at the highest level of domestic competition.

“We have a young squad, and it’s given these players an opportunity to show what they can do on the bigger stage,” Murten said.

“Our goal is to finish higher than last year (third), and to make sure every player comes away better than when we arrived,” the coach said.
“We want to create a strong team culture on and off the field and to have a positive environment for all our players.”

B.C. last won the National Women’s League Finals in 2010, when they defeated Ontario 34-22.