The long wait was worth it for Tanika Bonneville.
Months after flying to Ontario to attend a national tryout camp for Canada’s under-18 rugby squad – which itself came six weeks after the Elgin Park Secondary student was “long-listed” for the team – Bonneville found out last week she had made the cut.
Bonneville wasn’t the only local rugby player to receive good news this week, either. South Surrey’s John Jubenville and Michael Smith were both named to Canada’s U18 men’s team, which will leave March 22 for a rugby tour of Ireland.
The team also includes twin brothers Joshua and Jacob Thiel – sons of former Canadian national team star Jon Thiel, a former Bayside Shark who now lives in Abbotsford.
Bonneville’s team leaves March 30 for a 10-day rugby tour of Europe, which will include matches after England’s U18 side, in addition to a few yet-to-be-determined opponents.
“About a month ago, there was a regional camp, so the (coaches) came to see us here in B.C., but after that, the wait was really tough, for sure,” Bonneville said.
“You try to think back to the camp in October and remember what you did, and you wonder if your performance was as good as you’d like it to be. It’s hard to remember your competition’s performance, too, but mostly, you just think about how you did.
“At the regional camp, I just tried to give them what I thought they’d want, but you still don’t know, but I feel like I performed as well as I could have.”
Bonneville found out she made the team after receiving a phone call last week, but said she didn’t truly believe it – and waited to tell some people the good news – until she saw her name listed on an official Rugby Canada press release.
“That’s when the stress level definitely went down,” she said.
Bonneville will be one of the youngest players on the Team Canada roster, but she has no shortage of international experience – nor will she be intimidated playing against older competition.
Bonneville played for Team BC’s U16 team for three years, and last February she played alongside older provincial players at a seven-a-side tournament in Las Vegas.
As well, in the spring of 2014, when she was 14, she also suited up for a U15 boys team that travelled to Bermuda for an exhibition rugby tour.
“Being around those kind of high-level athletes again is going to be great, and I’m really looking forward to a great experience playing with those girls,” she said.