Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team set for final match-up with the US, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team wins invitational
Rugby 7s Senior Women, Rugby 7s Senior Men
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team will face the United States in the seventh place play-off on Sunday after a quarter-final loss to New Zealand at HSBC SVNS Vancouver.
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team will face the United States in the seventh place play-off on Sunday after a quarter-final loss to New Zealand at HSBC SVNS Vancouver. The second day of action at the 10th edition of HSBC SVNS Vancouver also saw Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team win the invitational tournament with another set of two wins.
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team got off to a strong start in their final pool play match, with Florence Symonds escaping down the wing early to open scoring, her try converted by Olivia Apps. Alysha Corrigan added to Canada’s score moments later, another Apps conversion giving Canada a 14-0 lead. Australia got their first try of the game in the sixth minute, the conversion then cutting Canada’s lead in half. The Aussies tied the game in the final minute of the first half, with the score at 14-14 at half-time.
“There was a lot of energy from the crowd. We wanted to keep that going,” said Symonds. “In the second half, we were defending for a lot of phases, and we just couldn't hold them anymore.”
Australia scored four unanswered tries in the second half, beating Canada by a final score of 35-14. Canada finished third in Pool A, setting up a quarter-final meeting with New Zealand.
New Zealand took a 12-0 lead in the first three minutes of the quarter-final, with Asia Hogan-Rochester getting Canada on the board in the fourth minute, their try converted by Apps. The Black Ferns Sevens scored twice more to lead 24-7 at half-time, then scoring another two to start the second half and extend their lead to 34-7. Canada pushed back, with Carissa Norsten scoring Canada’s second of the game in the 13th minute. New Zealand took the win 34-12, sending Canada to the seventh place play-off.
“It’s tough. They won more minutes than we did,” said Apps. “It’s a possession game and we just didn’t take care of the ball when we had it. Credit to New Zealand, they came out with a physical battle, but we will take all these learnings into tomorrow.”
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team won the men’s invitational with two dominant wins. For the second day in a row, Canada scored at least 50 points against Trinidad and Tobago, shutting out the Rugby Americas North Sevens runner-ups 50-0. Seven different players contributed points, led by two tries each from Jamie Armstrong and James Thiel. Michael Laplaine-Pereira, Ben Greenstein, Kyle Tremblay and Morgan Di Nardo got on the board as well, with Brenden Black adding four conversions.
“I've never played in front of a crowd that big, so just hearing that was a special moment,” said Armstrong. “It's my first tournament with the team so getting to play it in front of home fans like this has just been awesome.”
The final match of the tournament for Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team was a 51-12 win over Japan. Laplaine-Pereira opened scoring, followed quickly by tries from Armstrong and Kal Sager. Japan scored to make it 15-5, but an Ethan Hager try converted by Armstrong gave Canada a 22-5 lead at half-time.
The second half opened with a try from Armstrong who ran from Canada’s own 22, along with tries from Di Nardo, Ethan Turner, Elias Hancock and Tremblay.
“It was a really big confidence booster after coming off last season where we had lots of injuries and some tough bounces throughout the season,” said Sager. “Great to see some younger guys get it and play in front of this sweet environment. Starting our new season on the right foot.”
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team will now play the USA in the seventh place play-off on Sunday February 23 at 2:42pm PT / 5:42pm ET. All matches on Sunday will be available on TSN+, with semi-finals on TSN4 and finals on TSN2.
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team now prepares to head to Cape Town for the first two rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger. The final travelling roster will be announced on Monday February 24.
TICKETS
Tickets for the final day of HSBC SVNS Vancouver are available at vansevens.com. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the box office at Gates A and H at BC Place.
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.