Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team wins play-off to remain a core World Rugby Sevens Series nation

With a thrilling win over Kenya in the 2024 Series Play-off final at Twickenham Stadium in London, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team has secured a spot in the 2024 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Following a loss to Kenya and a win over Uruguay on Saturday, Canada needed a significant win over Tonga on Sunday morning to help them progress to the final. What occurred was just that—a major 43-7 victory that put Canada in first place following round robin play. Jack Carson had a first half hat trick, with Brock Webster continuing his strong showing in London with a try in the seventh minute. Max Stewart converted three of Canada’s first four tries. The second hat trick of the game belonged to Alex Russell, who scored three in a row in the second half (with Webster adding a conversion on Russell’s second try).

Canada faced Kenya for the second time in as many days in the final, having opened the tournament with a close 24-19 loss to the Kenyans. The final—a must-win for Canada to avoid relegation—proved to be yet another tight game. David Richard had an early chance out wide for Canada, but Kenya went up 7-0 in the fourth minute. However, Canada tied the game as time ran out in the first half, with the team recycling the ball to get it to Josiah Morra (converted by Webster).

A yellow card to Kenya’s John Okoth gave Canada the player advantage with three minutes remaining. With one minute left in a 7-7 game, Canada made use of every player on the field, moving the ball from Webster on one sideline, to Russell on the other, who scored his fourth try of the day to give Canada the 12-7 win.

“We’re so proud of what we have accomplished today, coming out on top in two must-win games,” said interim Head Coach Sean White. “Everyone in the program has worked incredibly hard for this—the players here in London and those back home who supported us and brought it every day to training. A special thank you to our family, friends and fans back home, whose support we could hear all the way in Twickenham.”

“We are proud of the team’s performance this weekend and winning the play-off final. Our players never stopped believing. Every time they hit a setback, they got right back in the game,” said Nathan Bombrys, Rugby Canada CEO. “We now turn our focus towards qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics in Langford this August, where we will have the rare and valuable opportunity to qualify on home soil.”

For full results from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, visit the official website: world.rugby/sevens-series. Rewatch Canada's win over Tonga here and Canada's win over Kenya here.

Catch Canada’s Women’s and Men’s Sevens Team in action on home soil this summer at the regional qualification event for Paris 2024 in Langford, British Columbia on August 19-20. Tickets can be purchased at rugby.ca/en/tickets.