Five years ago, winger Natasha Smith was just looking for something to pass the time when basketball season was over.
Little did she know, her decision to play on the Carleton Ravens women’s rugby team would lead her to being named Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) all-star, and potential Canadian national team candidate.
“I started playing rugby in Grade 12 [at Gloucester High School],” Smith said. “I needed something to do during the offseason of basketball and I took a lot of interest in rugby.”
Taking up the sport became a fortuitous experience for Smith, who began representing the Carleton Ravens women’s rugby team three years ago. Coach Denis Blondin quickly noticed that Smith possessed unique physical abilities, that separated her from most players.
“Natasha is exceptionally fast,” Blondin said. “She’s quite strong and is very difficult to tackle. Often it takes at least two or three defenders to stop her. Throughout this year, she played against some top-level national team athletes and she was beating them regularly. There are very few players like her in the country.”
Playing against nationally carded competition during the season became an invaluable experience for Smith, who produced several commanding performances in her first season as a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) athlete, recording 11 tries in just six games.
The Ravens winger excelled defensively too, exercising her raw speed to close down space and intercept wayward passes from the opposition, three of which she converted into tries.
Smith’s renewed focus and desire to work hard and intelligently apply her skills was a departure from the physically gifted athlete who had spent the previous two seasons relying heavily on her natural ability to succeed. It took a candid meeting with her head coach during the off-season for the talented Smith to begin harnessing her potential.
“It started in February,” Blondin said. “[She and I] had a conversation about what her potential was. She realized that she could be a high-impact player and, potentially, a national team player. She recognized that she needed to spend more time in the gym, which she did. She was doing regular cardiovascular training throughout the spring and summer. I think it all paid off because she had a big breakout season for us this year.”
The fourth-year commerce student underwent a demanding off-season program, dedicating much of the spring and summer to honing her craft in time for the Ravens’ inaugural varsity season.
“I trained all year round, instead of just during my rugby season,” Smith said. “I was training all summer, I played rugby all summer, and that was the first time I had played rugby in the summertime. I improved a lot through that.”
A resurgent Smith returned to the Ravens stronger and more focused, intent on becoming an all-round contributor for Blondin’s team, both on and off the field.
“As a returning player, I felt that I was able to help out the newer players. I wanted to be more of a leader and show them our standards at Carleton,” Smith said.
Other RSEQ coaches noticed her overall contribution to the Ravens and were impressed with her performances. They would eventually select her as a RSEQ all-star in late October.
“I really appreciate getting the title,” Smith said. “I put in a lot of work to get it.”
Being named an RSEQ All-Star is just the beginning for the Ravens starlet, who plans on joining up with Saskatchewan outfit, the Dog River Howlers, in early December. The invitational rugby club is scheduled to be in Trinidad & Tobago for an international competition that will pit the Howlers against players from Scotland, Jamaica and Barbados.
It’s an experience that Smith hopes will soon lead to national recognition.
“I’m excited [to be playing for the Howlers]. I’m hoping that it will be a stepping stone to playing for the Canadian [national] team eventually,” Smith said.
“That is her starting point,” Blondin said. “The Dog River Howlers are a touring team that usually takes a lot of National team athletes or players who are being identified as National team athletes to compete in international competition.”
“This will be a great opportunity for Natasha to see how she compares to some of those players. I think it’s just the beginning. She’ll definitely have a position on the National team very soon if she continues to work the way she does.”
