Canada's Women's Sevens Team takes third in Vancouver with win over Australia

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team claimed third place at HSBC SVNS Vancouver with an electrifying win over Australia at BC Place on Sunday.

The semi-finals saw a close contest between Canada and New Zealand. Michael Blyde scored two for the Black Ferns Sevens in the first half, with both conversions missed. Krissy Scurfield scored her first try of the day in the final minute of the first half, with Chloe Daniels kicking the conversion, to close the gap 10-7. The only scorer in the second half was Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who secured a 15-7 win for New Zealand.

“Today I thought we matched them physically,” said Head Coach Jack Hanratty. “Basically, we gave them a head start and then we have to look at, instead of chasing the game, how can we dictate the tempo? Sometimes you play New Zealand and you think, you know what, they’re too good. Today we didn’t feel like that. I thought we competed with them really well, so today is disappointing. What I loved is straight after [the game the team] took ownership and said right, okay, what’s next.”

France beat Australia 21-19 in the second semi-final, setting up a match-up between Canada and Australia for third place. Scurfield was once again Canada’s opening scorer, finding space to score in the opening minute, Daniels kicking a clean conversion once again.

“I saw Chloe Daniels, one of the best playmakers in the world in there, and I honestly wanted her to go for a kick. But then the gap opened up for me,” said Scurfield. “She gave it right in front of me. Then I just knew I had to run about 15 metres to the try line, so gave it all I got.”

Australia tied the game moments later, with the teams entering half-time tied 7-7. Daniels regained the lead for Canada as the second half opened, with Charity Williams further extending Canada’s lead in the 11th minute, converted by Olivia Apps. Australia got on the board one more time, but Canada took the win 19-14.

“This is probably one of the most special wins we’ve had as a group and it’s exactly where we want to be,” said Piper Logan. “We feel really good going into LA.”

“The atmosphere here compares to no other tournament,” said Scurfield. “Our fans are so loyal. You can hear them cheering us on. It just gives us the energy to push through those hard moments.”

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team faced Spain in the 11th place play-off. Scoring in the first half was back-and-forth, starting with Elias Hancock scoring for Canada in the second minute, converted by Thomas Isherwood. Spain responded, although was unsuccessful on the conversion. Jack Carson furthered Canada’s lead, but Spain tied it before half-time, the score 12-12. Neither team was able to score in the second half, and the game went to overtime, with Tobias Sainz-Trapaga scoring the game winner for Spain in the 20th minute of play.

“We wanted more grit, we wanted more abrasiveness like we had on day one. We’re creating opportunities. We’re just not capitalizing at the moment. But the opportunities are there. Between now and LA, we’ll look to correct those,” said Head Coach Sean White. “We had three games [this weekend decided] within a try. I think there’s a good message there. At the moment we’re just not finishing the game. To be fair, we’re not starting them the way we want to either. There is little things that we can work on that are in our control and ultimately hopefully we can go into LA and make those corrections.”

Canada’s sevens teams will now travel to California for HSBC SVNS Los Angeles, which takes place March 1 to 3, 2024. More information, including pools and schedule, will be announced shortly.

MORE INFO

For the most up to date information on the HSBC SVNS Series and live coverage, including details on the event format, the schedule and the latest news, visit the official website: svns.com.