Canett continuing with rugby national team

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The recent rugby activity for 2016 Fallbrook High School graduate Kayla Cannett has included the 2020 Olympic Games and the World Rugby Sevens Series. Canett is a member of the United States women's national team and is currently based at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.

"I'm still with the team right now," Canett said.

Canett has options for the near term. "I'm looking to go back to school in August but possibly going to the World Cup if that works out," she said.

As is the case with the Olympic Games the Rugby World Cup normally takes place every four years – and as was the case with the Summer Olympics coronavirus precautions will delay the scheduled tournament by a year. The 15-a-side 2021 Rugby World Cup will actually take place in fall 2022 in New Zealand while the seven-a-side World Cup will be in South Africa in September. The 2020 Olympic Games were held in Tokyo in 2021, and women's rugby was contested from July 29 to July 31.

Rugby had a seven-a-side format in the 2020 Olympics. "It was a real honor and a dream come true," Canett said of playing in the Olympic Games.

Canett also learned the emphasis of falling in love with the sport as opposed to specific accomplishments. "I realized a lot about myself afterward and how I can't just put goals on such a high pedestal," she said. "I think I learned a lot about who I was as a person and a player."

The United States Olympic Team took 13 active players, not including two who were injured and did not play. The matches had a roster of 12 teams, and the roster could be changed if a player needed to be scratched for a game.

Canett was notified in June 2021 that she had been chosen for the Olympic team. "When I got the email it was definitely the proudest moment of my life," she said. "Being named to the team I think was the biggest accomplishment I felt."

During some international tournaments the U.S. team didn't include Canett. "I really had to fight my way back into the 12, so I was really proud of the work I put in," she said.

Canett plays both fly half and scrum half, although she only played scrum half during the Olympics.

Great Britain defeated the United States in the quarterfinals, and a win and a loss in the matches between quarter finals losers gave the U.S. team sixth place. The Americans played six games, and Canett participated in three of those. Canett scored a try and a conversion kick in the Americans' 28-14 victory over China in pool play.

"It's a very big moment, but then it felt very brief once that it was over," Canett said.

The 2020 Olympics were played without fans. "You could hear everything so well on the field. You felt like you were at practice," Canett said.

Because of the number of people who watched on television, Canett received numerous texts and social media messages from those who saw her.

"Besides that it felt pretty similar to any other tournament," Canett said.

The 2024 Olympic Games will be held in Paris, France, and Canett will play for the U.S. National Team if she can.

"She learned a lot at the Olympics. She improved her game. She was playing with the best athletes in the world and saw what the highest level was all about," said Marin Pinnell, who was the Fallbrook High School Girls Rugby Club co-coach along with her husband when Canett played for the Warriors. "She proved that she should be on the squad and the team."

Four of the World Rugby Sevens Series competitions have been completed with May competitions in Canada and France to conclude the 2021-22 series. The two January events were in Spain; the ruggers played January 21-23 in Milaga and January 28-30 in Seville. The United States won the tournament in Milaga and took fourth place in Seville.

"We are very proud of Kayla and her performance in Spain. She has become a leader for the team," Pinnell said. "The distribution that she does as a fly half is phenomenal. It opens up the field."

After she graduated from Fallbrook High School, Canett played rugby for Penn State University. She was on the Nittany Lions' rugby team from 2016 to 2019. She left Penn State to move to the Olympic Training Center and, if she returns to college, Canett will likely attend San Diego State University or Cal State University San Marcos. She would pursue a bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a focus on movement science.

"Just thanking the Fallbrook girls rugby team for giving me such a strong foundation in the game of rugby," Canett said. "I owe a lot of my success to them and they've continued supporting me throughout the years."