Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team named for New Zealand stop of HSBC Sevens Series
Rugby 7s Senior Men
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team for the New Zealand Sevens, the fourth men’s tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, has been named by interim Head Coach Sean White.
January 12, 2023 (Langford, BC) – Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team for the New Zealand Sevens, the fourth men’s tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, has been named by interim Head Coach Sean White.
Led by captain Phil Berna, the team will play in Pool D at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton from January 20-22. Canada closed out 2022, and the start of the current Sevens Series, with a tenth place finish in Hong Kong, followed by fourteenth place finishes in Dubai and Cape Town. Josiah Morra and Brock Webster lead the team in scoring with 45 and 44 points respectively; both will be back on the pitch in New Zealand.
Making his international sevens debut is Dawson Fatoric, who first represented the country last summer with Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team in fixtures against Belgium and Spain. After touring with the Men's Sevens Team in 2022, Josh Thiel played with the Senior Men’s Team throughout the fall in the Americas Rugby Trophy and Canada’s international test matches, and now returns to sevens. Elias Hancock, who was a member of the 2022 Singapore Sevens and Commonwealth Games teams, has been named to the New Zealand roster as well.
“I thought the players executed the small adjustments we made prior to Dubai and Cape Town quite well. Their execution, especially early in the games, put us in a strong position,” said Sean White, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team interim Head Coach. “Where we are looking to improve is with our execution under pressure and minimizing our unforced errors at pivotal moments, which has been a focus of ours since returning in the new year. In Hamilton we are aiming to build off the many positives the team showed they are capable of in Cape Town.”
Canada will play South Africa, Argentina and Spain during pool play, starting with South Africa on Friday January 20 at 12:10 p.m. PT / 3:10 p.m. ET. The team faces Argentina the same day at 3:16 p.m. PT / 6:16 p.m. ET, followed by Spain at 8:34 p.m. PT / 11:34 p.m. ET.
SCHEDULE / COVERAGE
For the most up to date information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and live coverage, visit the official website world.rugby/sevens-series. There you will find details regarding the event format, schedule, and the latest news.
WHERE TO WATCH
Broadcast coverage of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will be available in Canada via CBC. All events are available to live stream via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app, and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Please note that due to matches being played on two fields simultaneously, select matches may not be broadcast.
CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS ROSTER
1. Anton Ngongo (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers
2. Jake Thiel (Victoria, BC) – James Bay AA
3. D’Shawn Bowen (Toronto, ON) – Pacific Pride
4. Phil Berna (Vancouver, BC) – Vancouver Rowing Club
6. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) – Castaway Wanderers / Toronto Saracens
7. Brock Webster (Uxbridge, ON) – Oshawa Vikings RFC
11. Elias Ergas (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia
14. Josh Thiel (Victoria, BC) – James Bay AA
19. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) – Pacific Pride
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) – Foothills Lions RFC
27. Dawson Fatoric (Ottawa, ON) – Pacific Pride
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) – Bytown Blues