September 10, 2025
Before Regina’s Gabrielle Senft was representing Canada at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, she was on her family’s farm, building the resilience to succeed.
“I grew up on a farm in the middle of Saskatchewan and it is exactly what shaped me to be the player that I am today. Because if I didn’t live on a farm in Sask, I probably wouldn’t be as tough as I am, I wouldn’t have the resilience. I could bring so many examples to the plate as to why I am excited to be a Saskatchewan player.”
Senft states that much of what makes her the athlete she is today is rooted in her ties to the province, with most of the credit being given to her mother.
Surrounded by strong women every day, Senft still recalls her mom being her first idol, sharing that she once sought a career as a professional athlete herself. And even though she grew up listening to her mom speak about her past desires, that dream was never pushed on Senft.
Inevitability though, Senft’s love for rugby paved a clear path to success and she inadvertently chased the same dream her mom once had.
“My mom was a really big reason why I continued to play professional sport, professional rugby. I don’t think I would have kept going if she didn’t push me to go find my dreams,” said Senft. “My mom is a massage therapist, so she taught me at a young age to know the difference between pain and injury, which is a very big skill that I still hold myself to, to this day being a professional athlete.”
That dream to play rugby at the highest level ignited when Senft got her first taste of the sport at Regina Leboldus high school and quickly found it offered her a community she had never experienced in other sports.
In the years following, Senft came to find that the rugby community she fell in love with in Saskatchewan spans across the world, providing a home-away-from-home no matter where she may compete.
“Rugby has a very big reputation about community and family wherever you go in the world. I’ve played in five different countries now and it’s never felt like a culture shock, because whatever team I’ve been on, starting on day one at Leboldus to now with Rugby Canada, it’s always just felt very much like a safe space.”
Even now, as the only Saskatchewan player on Team Canada, Senft has a community of support and is honoured to be the sole representative of the yellow and green. She knows what it means to stand apart and represent her home and her past.
“I wish I could show those young girls in Saskatchewan a little bit more of what dreams I had and how I just went and did them, regardless of if I had to leave Sask, because you know Sask always has your back.”
Senft alongside Team Canada has done the province proud, entering the England-hosted 2025 Rugby World Cup second in the world just below top-ranked New Zealand.
After a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand — which was delayed until 2022 due to COVID-19 — Senft took the lessons learned and brought them to the forefront for her second World Cup.
According to Senft, they take it game-by-game and aim to build each time.
It is that very mentality that has led Canada to be 3-0 in England, dominating their three pool matches by a combined score of 147-26, which secured them a spot in quarterfinal action on Sept. 13 against seventh in the world, Australia.
“Last World Cup I was basically just fighting to get onto a roster every single time, and now I am leading the team.”
As Senft’s dreams broadcast live across TSN — including their quarterfinal match on Saturday at 9 a.m. SK time — she hopes that other young athletes can follow in her footsteps.
“Rugby is the one thing that brings everyone together and I want to say that to kids because that is the biggest reason I kept playing,” said Senft. “It doesn’t matter what family you come from or how much money [you have] or what high school you went to, or you know what group of friends you have, rugby takes anyone in.”
And this month, there is an opportunity to step into that community.
On Sept. 14, women/girls ages seven and up will have the opportunity to experience the sport in Saskatoon. From 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the North Saskatchewan Rugby Union is working with local rugby players to host an event that will introduce the basics of rugby to attendees.
For more information or to sign up, check out the NSRU Facebook page.