REPLACEMENTS:
8. Jasmine Joyce (Great Britain)
It was a tough campaign for Team GB, as despite coming into the games with such promise and Red Roses talents to deploy, Great Britain were only able to accrue a seventh placed finish once all was said and done. With honourable mentions to the likes of Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones and Heather Cowell, we have opted for Wales international Jasmine Joyce to take a spot amongst the replacements. Joyce becomes the first British rugby player to appear at three Olympic games, and the veteran made good on every appearence by contributing a total of four tries.
9. Piper Logan (Canada)
We are back with the silver medal winning Canadians, and we have a space on the bench for Piper Logan. Logan scored arguably the biggest try of her career, and in the history of Canadian rugby, as she dotted down with just one minute to go, to snatch the semi-final lead from Australia and guarantee a silver medal for her country. Logan was far from a one-moment wander, as the Calgary Hornet scored four tries in Paris, and put her body on the line with many well-timed tackles to boot.
10. Thalia Costa (Brazil)
The star of a Brazil side that continues to improve, the South American’s attacking plan was often one-dimensional, with that dimension being ‘give the ball to Thalia’. Sharing the pitch alongside her twin sister Thalita, Thalia Costa took a leading role with her sibling being a dutiful understudy. Thalia finished the tournament with two tries, with an honourable mention in store for Brazil’s mohawk-sporting Raquel Kochhann, who overcame a bout with breast cancer to be her nation’s top try scorer at the games.
11. Xiaoqian Liu (China)
Representing the People’s Republic of China within this combined team, we have selected Liu Xiaoqian as the leading player from the 6th overall placed side. China shocked Team GB in the placing semi-final match, with a last minute winner exhibiting their never give up attitude, and the ability to capitalise on their opponents mistakes. Linking up well with the likes of Keyi Chen and Feifei Yang, Xiaoqian finished the Games on top of her team’s try tally, as she dotted down for a total of four well taken scores.
12. Stacey Waaka (New Zealand)
Rounding off the team is Stacey Waaka, who became well known to fans throughout the competition thanks to her trademark post-try smile, which gives even fellow countryman Damian McKenzie a run for his money. Waaka stepped up off when Portia Woodman-Witcliffe ran out of steam, and actually outperformed the retiring Black Ferns legend as she had her Olympic swan-song. With seven tries to her campaign in an epic Olympic effort, Waaka was instrumental in New Zealand’s successful title retention, and secured the crown with her match winning try in the Gold Medal Final. .