Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team headed for semi finals in Toulouse

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will play in the World Rugby Sevens Series semi finals for the first time this season following a win over Australia in the quarter finals on Day 2 of HSBC France Sevens.

A 33-7 win over Kenya in the final pool play match helped Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team to second place in Pool A, securing a spot in the quarter finals. Straight off a scrum in the third minute, Thomas Isherwood passed short side to Max Stewart, who slammed the ball over the line. Kenya collected seven points of their own, but held the lead for only two minutes, with Isherwood striking just before half-time to put Canada up 12-7.

Canada’s offence continued to produce in the second half. David Richard scored on a kick and chase, followed by Matt Oworu. Josiah Morra added a final try in the thirteenth minute. Isherwood and Stewart added conversions to Canada's tally as well, Isherwood with three and Stewart with one.

Captain Phil Berna found a way through Australia’s defence to open scoring in the quarter finals, with a conversion from Stewart giving Canada a 7-0 lead at half-time. Australia scored two of their own in the second half, the first requiring video review to check for separation. With Australia up 10-7, Alex Russell reached 100 career World Rugby Sevens Series points in style with an incredible effort in the fourteenth minute to put Canada in the lead 12-10. Facing over two minutes of added time, Canada’s defence kept Australia at bay, with Brock Webster making a highlight reel-worthy tackle in the final seconds.

Sabrina Poulin continued to demonstrate her speed and skill on Day 2, scoring the first try of the game (followed up with a conversion from Olivia Apps) in Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team’s final pool play match against New Zealand. The Black Ferns, who officially won the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 on Friday with their win against the USA, had a strong showing against Canada. They responded to Poulin’s opening try with four of their own, taking the win 28-7.

Brazil attempted to stage an upset in the ninth place semi finals, but a great second half helped Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team to a 26-17 win. Down 12-0 in the seventh minute, Fancy Bermudez dodged Brazil’s defence with a dummy switch, reaching 50 career World Rugby Sevens Series points with Canada’s first try of the game. A clean kick from Breanne Nicholas put the score at 12-7 for Brazil at half-time.

Poulin extended her scoring streak to four games, pushing through a tackle to tie the game in the tenth minute. Another speedster gave Canada its first lead of the game, with Piper Logan accelerating down the field. Apps, who added conversions to Poulin and Logan’s tries, took a pass from Shalaya Valenzuela in extra time to score as well.  

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team will wrap up HSBC France Sevens on Sunday May 14 at 1:50 a.m. PT / 4:50 a.m. ET against Spain in the ninth place play-off. Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will meet Argentina in the semi finals at 4:32 a.m. PT / 7:32 a.m. ET.

Broadcast coverage of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is available in Canada via CBC. All tournaments are available to stream via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

For the latest scores, results and schedule, visit the official website: world.rugby/sevens-series.