Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team goes undefeated in pool play in Krakow

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team has qualified for the semi-finals at the third round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger and officially booked their spot in next month’s HSBC SVNS Play Off after going undefeated in pool play in Krakow.

Thomas Isherwood opened scoring for Canada early in their first match, pushing past Madagascar’s defence and converting his own try. Madagascar’s Jean Yves Randriamalala then scored twice to give his team a 12-7 lead, but Isherwood struck once more in the final minute of the first half to tie the game.

Morgan Di Nardo gave Canada back the lead in the ninth minute off a play that started with Canada stealing possession by winning Madagascar’s scrum. Madagascar continued to rally back against Canada however, tying the score. Elias Hancock scored his first of the game in the 14th minute, with a good conversion from Ethan Turner. The game was not over however, with Madagascar tying the game yet again in extra time. Hancock got the job done for Canada, scoring in golden point extra time to give Canada an opening 29-24 win.

Canada then faced Japan, putting on a dominant showing with a 40-10 win. The first half saw tries from Jamie Armstrong and Di Nardo, as well as two for Rhys James, his first-ever international sevens tries. Alex Russell added one for Canada in the second half, as did another first-ever international sevens try scorer, Kainoa Lloyd. Three conversions from Isherwood, as well as one each from Brenden Black and Turner, helped lift Canada to victory.

The final match of Pool B for Canada saw them take on Portugal, the winners of the second round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger. Hancock opened scoring early, his try converted by Black. With Canada maintaining control, Armstrong added to the tally, with Canada going up 12-0. Portugal scored to get on the board just before half-time, but Canada still led, 12-5.

The second half opened with Kyle Tremblay finding a hole in Portugal’s defence, sprinting down the field to increase Canada’s lead. Portugal made use of a yellow card to James to score in the corner and make it a seven-point game, but Canada held on to the win, finishing 17-10.

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will now play Samoa in the semi-finals on Saturday April 12 at 3:50am PT/6:50am ET. All matches are available live on TSN+.

More information on the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger, including full schedules and update scores, can be found here.