OTTAWA - Carleton Ravens forward Lauryn Walker has been named to the upcoming Jamaican national team at this weekend's Rugby Americas North Sevens Qualifiers in the Bahamas. Walker and her teammates will be looking to qualify for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 and the Commonwealth Games 2022 when they take the pitch in the two day tournament.
A versatile forward who joined the Ravens from Brampton, Ontario, Walker displayed a unique balance of speed, strength and ball handling that will no doubt help the prop fit right in on the faster and more dynamic 7s pitch.
"Jamaica is the country that my family comes from, and so for me to have the opportunity to play with that flag on my chest, still feels so unreal," said Walker. "
In 2021, Walker was tied with Vanessa Chiappetta for the team lead with seven tries. Perhaps her most notable score of the season came in the Ravens historic 7-0 win over the Concordia Stingers in the RSEQ quarterfinals. The win would help the Ravens advance to their first bronze medal in program history two weeks later - in a game that also featured a score from Walker. "Being able to represent this country is everything to me. I know that a lot of people don’t know about this team because it’s not as big and fancy as some of the other national teams out there, but the instant love and connection that I’ve found while on this team is something very rare, and to me that means more than ranking or status."
Walker and the Jamaican national team start their qualifying tournament on Saturday, April 23 at 10:50 a.m. when they face the Dominican Republic. Walker will face team Canada in her third match of the day at 5:48 p.m. The entire event will be streamed on the Rugby Americas North website.
"I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to help build up this team, so that we can put Jamaica rugby on the map."
Joining Walker on the international scene is former Raven Demi Swann. Earlier this week, Swann joined the Canada Ravens for the first international rugby league match between the Ravens and USA Redtail. Swann and the Ravens were victorious 42-10 against their neighbours from the South.