Canada’s Senior Men’s Sevens beat Spain to round off Day One of HSBC Canada Sevens
Rugby 7s Senior Men
Canada’s Senior Men’s Sevens team wrapped up day one of the HSBC Canada Sevens with a pulsating victory over Spain after narrow defeats to Australia and South Africa.
April 16, 2022 (Vancouver, BC) Canada’s Senior Men’s Sevens team wrapped up day one of the HSBC Canada Sevens with a pulsating victory over Spain after narrow defeats to Australia and South Africa.
Henry Paul’s team, presented by Velocity Trade, opened against Australia at BC Place in Vancouver. Despite a promising start which saw Canada take a 10-0 lead thanks to Alex Russell and Jake Thiel tries, Australia pegged the hosts back before half time as Corey Toole went over.
After the break, a breakaway Josh Turner try was converted to put Australia in front before Nathan Lawson added to their advantage. Canada continued to battle but momentum was with their opponents, who added a converted Maurice Longbottom try to complete a 26-10 victory.
Next up, South Africa. The Springboks claimed the opening score through JC Pretorius but Canada’s defence prevented further tries thanks to some solid tackling. Ronald Brown eventually breached their resolute back line to make it 12-0.
A smart Cooper Coats kick forced a South Africa miscue as David Richard went over for Canada’s first try. Coats soon followed his assist with his own try and the go-ahead conversion. But a late Selvyn Davids score sealed South Africa’s 19-14 win.
In their final match, Richard scored Canada’s first try to earn a 5-0 advantage before Spain struck back through Nico Nieto. Elias Ergas restored the hosts’ lead after a bursting run through the middle earned him a try, before Brennig Prevost wrestled for and won the ball in space to run in another.
Two tries from Pol Pla turned the match on its head before Brock Webster’s fake pass opened up the Spain defence for him to make it 26-21 and ultimately seal the win for Canada.
Canada’s day one results mean they finished third in Pool C and will face Japan in the ninth place quarter-final at 9:22 a.m. tomorrow morning. Tickets for Sunday can be purchased here.
Broadcast coverage of the HSBC Sevens Series is available in Canada via CBC. Live stream via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app and the free CBC Gem streaming service.