Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team wins over USA en route to sixth place in Hong Kong

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team finished sixth, and Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team fourteenth, at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday, the eighth men’s stop and sixth women’s stop on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023.

The women’s fifth place semi finals saw Canada face the USA, who officially qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics earlier in the tournament, for the fifth time this season. The Americans struck in the third minute of play, but seven points was all they could manage all game, with Canada securing their first win over the USA this season.

Canada took advantage of an American yellow card in the fifth minute, with Julia Greenshields making an impressive break down the field off a scrum that resulted in a try by Piper Logan. A good conversion from Olivia Apps tied the game 7-7. Apps gave Canada the 12-7 lead in the second half, diving over the try line with just over three minutes remaining.  

Logan, who made her World Rugby Sevens Series debut at HSBC Canada Sevens, was an offensive force for Canada in the fifth place play-off against France, scoring both Canadian tries. While France held a 15-0 lead at half-time, Logan closed the gap with back-to-back tries in the second half. A conversion from Apps on Logan’s first try put the score at 15-12, but the French furthered their lead in the last minute of play, winning by a score of 22-12.

“Today was a massive step forward, we got to challenge ourselves against two of the top four. This season we have had close games with USA, but ended up on the wrong side. Today we got to be on the right side of a close game, which the group will take big positives from,” said Head Coach Jack Hanratty. “At the moment in this competition, the top two are so consistent, and are the teams we are all chasing, but the next group of teams is battling each other week in and week out. Two top six performances are a step in the right direction, but we as a group want more.”

“This week was a big week for our program with the announcement that Langford will host RAN Sevens for an Olympic position. We have one more stop in the series in Toulouse before heading back home to aim to punch our ticket to the Olympic Games.”

New Zealand's women's team won their fifth HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series stop in a row, winning 26-17 over Australia in the final.

Following a 17-0 loss to Ireland in the ninth place quarter finals, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team claimed their first win of the tournament over Japan in the thirteenth place semi finals. A nice step around the Japanese defence in the third minute by Thomas Isherwood gave Canada its first scoring opportunity of the game, with Isherwood offloading to Josiah Morra for the try. Kratz added the conversion to give Canada a 7-0 lead.

Japan scored twice, at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, to go up 12-7, but a second try from Morra, who received a pass from Max Stewart and sped down the sideline, and a conversion from Isherwood tied the game in the thirteenth minute. Will Percillier secured the 19-12 win for Canada with a try in extra time.

The team then faced hosts Hong Kong China, who had won over Kenya for the first time in over 20 years earlier in the day (their first home win in 10 years), in the thirteenth place play-off. Down 17-0, Matt Oworu scored for Canada in the twelfth minute, with a clean conversion from Kratz. Canada finished fourteenth overall with a final score of 17-7 for Hong Kong China.

“It was quite an emotional week for our group. It’s been the story of the season with big swings between our highs and lows,” said interim Head Coach Sean White. “When we believe in each other and fight tooth and nail for the guy next to us, we can reach more of those highs. That’s the aim as we progress. To continue to fight for each other and put us in the best situation to compete for wins in a very competitive and challenging series. The belief is growing.”

New Zealand also topped the podium in the men’s tournament, with the All Blacks winning 24-17 over Fiji.

Canada Men’s Sevens Team will now compete in the HSBC Singapore Sevens over April 8 to 9. Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team will close out the 2023 Series in Toulouse over May 12 to 14. For full results from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, visit the official website: world.rugby/sevens-series.