Por Mexico: How a Canadian coach helped an unlikely women's rugby 7s team

Robin MacDowell's team from Mexico is making their Rugby World Cup Sevens debuts in San Francisco. Macdowell sees similarities between his team and his own rugby culture.   "I see a lot of them in myself as well and I like being the underdog."

Andrea Burk and Phil Mackenzie are former members of Canada's rugby sevens team. MacDowell played for Canada for seven years and won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He also runs a rugby academy in Regina and is involved in rugby programs in Canada.

MacDowell became Mexico's head coach last April. He met Rosie Rivera while they were playing rugby in Cuba. MacDowell has over 100 athletes in his high-performance system. The team is based out of Mexico City's Olympic training centre. Most of the players speak English. Before the World Cup, John Tait invited the team to Langford, B.C., to train. The experience was more impactful for Canada's team than for Mexico. "All my girls have quit their jobs, they've been away, and they have been living on the road and we literally have nothing. So please, please eat some humble pie and be very thankful for everything you have."

Rugby Mexico played scrimmages at Brentwood College today in preparation for next weekend’s Rugby World Cup.

The team Las Serpientes has been training for the Rugby World Cup in San Francisco since last year. They are playing their first match against New Zealand. MacDowell is proud to represent Mexico. He believes the team is helping to change the perception of rugby in Mexico, which is still very misogynistic. The team has sold thousands of t-shirts and raised over $1 million. It is the first time a Mexican rugby team qualified for a World cup.