LA 7s Invitational

Maple Leaf 7s Team Named for LA 7s Invitational: Results Updated

Rugby Canada finally released the roster for the Maple Leaf squad at the LA 7s Invitational. Two players, Anton Ngongo and Brennig Prevost, are from the senior squad. Callum Botchar, rumoured to be going to Taranaki for XVs later this year, is in the squad. Pride players Max Stewart, AJ Kosempel, Zephyr Melnyk are in the roster as well as CW winger Jordan Ng and Ravens wing Cole Keffer. JBAA’s Mostyn Findlay is on the team as well as UBC’s Jared Andrews-Almack and UVic’s Ethan Hager. The only player who hasn’t played in the BC Premier is Christian Coppin from Upright Rogues in Ontario.

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Sydney 7s 2023

Sydney 7s Men Finish 15th/16th; Women Finish in 9th

It’s not looking good for the men’s 7s program right now. They slipped 10 points behind Uruguay in the race for the coveted 11th place that avoids the relegation tournament. They remain 8 points above Japan who occupy 15th place and get immediately relegated after the Toulouse tournament. There are 5 tournaments left to turn things around before London: LA, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore and Toulouse. Canada will need to make the Cup round in one or two of the remaining tournaments.

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Canada 7s History

A Look Back at the Canada 7s Coaches from 1980 to Present: Record at Hong Kong 7s and Team Lists from 1980 to 1997

We got on the track of the Hong Kong 7s when we revisited this Rugby Street demo we had done in 2010. The show was hosted by James Buchanan and Meghan Mutrie and featured the Bowl win by the 2010 Canada 7s team. That got us thinking about the hardware that Canada have won at Hong Kong and who were the coaches over the years. Both topics we researched a bit below.

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Cape Town 7s – 2022

Cape Town 7s Women Finish 8th; Men Finish 14th: MATCH VIDEOS

The Cape Town 7s wrapped up with NZ winning the women’s tournament and Samoa winning the men’s tournament. The top four teams in the women’s standings are Australia, NZ, USA and France, for the men it’s Samoa, South Africa, NZ and USA. That’s important as the top four teams in the standings at the end of the season qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. It doesn’t look like Canada will be in the running for one of those four spots but if USA qualify then Canada’s road in the regional tournament will be much easier.

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Dubai 7s – December 2022

Men Finish 14th in Dubai, Women Finish in 9th, Series Moves to Cape Town Next Weekend

The Canadian men dropped from 10th place to 12th place in the series standings with a 14th place finish in Dubai. Probably the most concerning for new coach Sean White is how they were humbled by the Spanish, 38-7, in the 13th place final match. Spain is ranked 13th in the series, Kenya 14th and Japan 15th. The 15th place team will be dropped at the end of the series, the 12th to 14th place teams will play a repechage tournament along with the winner of the Sevens Challenger Series to determine who stays in the series for 2023-24. Canada also lost to Kenya in Dubai.

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World Rugby 7s Series – 2023-24

Big Changes Planned for World Rugby 7s Series in 2023-24: Men’s Series to be Reduced to Twelve Teams

Starting in December 2023 there will be only 12 teams in the men’s World Rugby 7s series, reduced from 16. There will then be parity with the women’s series who are currently at 12 teams. Both the men and women will play 7 tournaments over 7 months at “super” events, hosts and dates to be announced in the coming months.

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Canada 7s Updates – November 2022

Henry Paul Leaves Canada 7s Position: Sean White to Take Team to Dubai and Cape Town

Henry Paul is leaving the 7s coaching position at Rugby Canada, the Rugby Canada press release says “Rugby Canada has agreed to release Men’s Sevens Head Coach Henry Paul from his contract with immediate effect”. It’s hard to say what actually happened behind the scenes, was he encouraged to terminate the contract, did he see the handwriting on the wall, or does he have something else lined up that aligns better with family?

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Hong Kong 7s – 2022

Canada Finish in 10th Place at Hong Kong with Day 3 Wins Over Hong Kong and Great Britain: MATCH VIDEOS

Canada finished in 10th place which is a good start for them on the series, they defeated Kenya, Hong Kong and Great Britain to get there. They lost to Argentina, Ireland and New Zealand. If they can keep that pace going through the season they’ll be happy.

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Canada Men’s 7s

A Look at the Men’s 7s Program 2015-2022: Coaching Changes, COVID & Retirements

A reader sent in a request to put together Damian McGrath’s 7s coaching record in Canada and compare it to the current coach, Henry Paul. We didn’t go down to the match by match results but used a more accessible tournament points record and end of year standings and points.

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