Latoya Blackwood Explained

Birth Date:19 August 1985
Birth Place:Montreal, Quebec
Height:1.75 m
Weight:77 kg
University:University of Western Ontario
Ru Position:Lock
Amatteam2:Western Mustangs
Amatteam3:Concordia Stingers
Repyears1:2013-2018
Repcaps1:31
Ru Ntupdate:2016-12-01

Latoya Blackwood (born August 19, 1985) is a Canadian rugby union player. She represented at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup.[1] [2] She made her debut at the 2013 Nations Cup and retired in 2018.[3]

Early life and university

Blackwood lived in Brampton, Ontario during her early life and was a basketball player.[4] She discovered rugby in high school and in her last year, she played on the boy's rugby team. Afterwards she soon joined a club in Brampton. Blackwood also played in university for the Western Mustangs from 2004 to 2009.[5] [6] Later, she also studied at Concordia University from 2011 to 2016, where she finished up her final year of eligibility with the Concordia Stingers.[7]

Club and provincial rugby

From 2011 to 2015, Blackwood played for the Saint Anne de Bellevue RFC and during this time, in 2012 she was selected to the Rugby Quebec provincial team.[8]

In preparation for the 2017 World Cup, Blackwood trained with the Stade Toulousain women's rugby team where she was after a one-year contract starting in September 2015.[9] [10] When she returned to Canada, Blackwood moved to Victoria and started playing for the Westshore RFC.

International rugby

Blackwood was a staple of the Rugby Canada women's team from August 2013 to March 2018. An enforcer on the field, coach Francois Ratier nicked named her "The Sheriff" in the lockerroom.[11] Her favorite moments include her first cap at the 2013 Nations Cup where Team Canada defeated England for the first time in the program's history, defeating France in the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup semi-finals, and the match versus Wales in the 2017 World Cup (in which she set up one of the top tries from the tournament by running the ball half way up the field[12]).[13]

Often selected as a lock, but sometimes played as a flanker, Blackwood's international test match experiences include the 2013 November tour to France and England,[14] [15] the 2014 tour to Australia,[16] [17] the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Super Series in Alberta (during this tournament, she was considered Canada's standout player at openside flank),[18] 2016 Super Series in Salt Lake City,[19] the 2016 UK tour,[20] the 2017 Can-Am Series,[21] and the 2017 World Cup.

Blackwood was selected for 2017 NZ Summer Series but suffered a leg injury during a club game and considering retirement, but healed in time for the 2017 World Cup.[4] [22]

Awards and honours

Post-international rugby career

When Blackwood announced her retirement in March 2018, she already started her career as a public service employee of the British Columbia's provincial government. She continues to be involved with rugby as a referee and hopes to be an official at a World Cup tournament.[29]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Canada's Roster Announced for Women's Rugby World Cup . Ben Kerr, lastwordonsports.com . 30 June 2014 . 2 October 2014.
  2. Web site: Canada roster announced for Women's World Cup opener vs France . Bryan Kelly, Rugby Canada Communications (BC Rugby.com) . 31 July 2014 . 2 October 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084033/http://www.bcrugby.com/news/2014/07/31/provincial-15s-senior-women/canada-roster-announced-for-women-s-world-cup-opener-vs-france/ . 6 October 2014 .
  3. Web site: Latoya Blackwood has confirmed her retirement from international rugby. 23 March 2018 .
  4. Web site: The Canadian Press. 2017-08-03. Blackwood part of backbone for Canada at Rugby World Cup - TSN.ca. 2021-02-18. TSN. en.
  5. Web site: LaToya Blackwood - Women's Rugby. 2021-02-18. Western Mustangs Sports. en.
  6. Web site: Latoya Blackwood . LinkedIn.com . November 6, 2021.
  7. Web site: Stingers.ca Rugby (W) Roster. 2021-02-18. stingers.ca.
  8. Web site: Bennet. Lee. 2012-07-03. ONTARIO TAKES 2012 NWL CHAMPIONSHIP as reported by Rugby Canada. 2021-02-18. YSCRugby Women's Rugby News. en-US.
  9. Web site: 2015-08-27. News in brief: New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Australia. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  10. Web site: 2015-10-15. Top 8: Blagnac go top. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  11. Web site: Forward Latoya Blackwood part of the backbone for Canada at Rugby World Cup. 2021-02-18. GuelphToday.com. 3 August 2017 . en.
  12. Web site: world.rugby. 10 of the greatest women's Rugby World Cup tries ｜ Rugby World Cup 2021. 2021-02-18. www.rugbyworldcup.com. en.
  13. Web site: Latoya Blackwood has confirmed her retirement from international rugby. 2021-02-18. Rugby Canada. 23 March 2018 . en.
  14. Web site: 2013-09-29. Canada name touring squad. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  15. Web site: 2013-11-12. England & Canada name teams. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  16. Web site: 2014-06-06. Canada impress in win over Australia. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  17. Web site: 2014-06-10. Ferns see off Canada in Tauranga rain. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  18. Web site: 2015-06-28. Winning starts for England and Ferns. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  19. Web site: 2016-07-10. Canada win 2016 Super Series. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  20. Web site: 2016-11-17. Teams confirmed for key test games. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  21. Web site: 2017-03-29. Canada set the pace in CanAm. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  22. Web site: North Vancouver's Andrea Burk returns to Canada lineup for Women's Rugby World Cup opener vs. Hong Kong. 2021-02-18. theprovince. en-CA.
  23. Web site: Stingers.ca Concordia Rugby All-Stars. 2021-02-18. stingers.ca.
  24. Web site: Concordia fittest athletes . 2018-12-07.
  25. Web site: Top athletes honoured at Stingers banquet. 2021-02-18. stingers.ca.
  26. Web site: Scrumqueens 2013 Awards: Part 2. 27 December 2013.
  27. Web site: 2017-01-05. Scrumqueens Awards 2016: Part 4. Squads. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  28. Web site: 2019-09-30. Scrumqueens.com - XV Team of the Decade. 2021-02-18. Scrum Queens. en.
  29. Web site: BC Rugby Officials in Action Around the Province and Around the World – BC Rugby. 2021-02-18. en-GB.

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