Written by Carleton Sports Information
The Ravens women’s rugby team has announced the hiring of brand-new assistant coach Natasha Flowersmith. She’ll join head coach David Luong and his staff as the Ravens look to build off a 2021 season where they took home the RSEQ Bronze Medal.
Flowersmith is a former Ravens rugby player herself from 2010-2014 who boasts quite the athletic career. In her time with Carleton, Flowersmith was an RSEQ division All-Star in 2012. In 2014, she was named captain of the Ravens, and in 2015 she was named Carleton’s senior female athlete of the year. She also represented Canada at the World University Championships in 2013 and 2014, winning bronze and gold respectively.
Her impressive career continued on after her days as a Raven. Flowersmith joined the Canadian senior national team after finishing her undergrad at Carleton in 2014. In 2015 she made three appearances for team Canada in matches against New Zealand, England, and the United States.
In 2017, Natasha was selected to represent Team Canada at the Rugby League World Cup. She scored three tries against Papua New Guinea, helping Canada earn their first-ever win at the World Cup.
Flowersmith also brings a plethora of coaching experience to the Ravens. She began skills coaching with local high schools while still playing for the Ravens back in 2013. She would go on to volunteer with high school rugby clinics for 4 years. By 2015, she had also become the assistant women’s rugby coach at Gloucester High School and had also returned to Carleton as a part-time skills coach.
The announcement comes just days before Ravens rugby kicks off their season September 1st at 6 p.m. where they will take on the University of Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or. Carleton’s first home match of the season is September 9th, where they welcome the McGill Martlets to TAAG Park for a 4 p.m. start. Tickets are available at goravens.ca/tickets.
