Men Finish in 7th Place; Women Finish in 6th Place in Cape Town
It was a big improvement for the men, going from 12th in Dubai to 7th in Cape Town. For the women it was a slight step down from 4th in Dubai to 6th in Cape Town.
It was a big improvement for the men, going from 12th in Dubai to 7th in Cape Town. For the women it was a slight step down from 4th in Dubai to 6th in Cape Town.
The women started Day 2 with a quarter-final win over Ireland 14-12, scoring for Canada were Charity Williams and Krissy Scurfield, Chloe Daniels kicked both conversions.
Canada’s men’s team reversed an earlier loss to USA in the pool round to win the Bronze medal match 19-17. Argentina were the class of the tournament and went undefeated winning Gold. Chile were the surprising Silver medal winner as they defeated USA in the semi-finals. The USA men sent a development side that only had 2 players from their team that won the Olympic qualifier in August.
As expected the women had an easy time of the North American Olympic qualifying as the USA had prequalified and weren’t at the tournament. Also as expected the men would have difficulty getting past USA. The men will have to win the repechage tournament in order to qualify.
from Rugby Canada
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team is hosting Australia, Japan and Hong Kong China on Vancouver Island for a summer showcase in preparation for the rugby sevens Paris 2024 Qualification Event taking place at Starlight Stadium on August 19 and 20.
MEN
After 2 great games on Day 2, Canada couldn’t get it together on Day 3, looking completely disorganized in the first half against Argentina and going down 26-0 after 7 minutes. They were missing Matt Oworu and that may be a testament to how important he is to the team. In the second match against France they shook up the roster and gave many of the subs the start. At this point 3rd or 4th matters less than evaluating who can step up next weekend. Jack Carson and David Richard stood out as they went into the half down 7-5. Canada kept it close in the second half with a Brock Webster try, down 14-12, then it was all France.
The women’s program is in a good place right now, they’re in no danger of relegation as the women’s series, unlike the men’s series, has no relegation this year. Canada sit in 8th place currently and will finish the series in 8th, the team above them Great Britain are too far ahead to catch, the team behind them, Japan, are unlikely to make up the 8 points this tournament. It’s not the top 3 team Canada were used to under John Tait but it’s a good place to be while rebuilding. Also making life easy is the fact USA will finish top 4 and will automatically qualify for the Olympics, meaning they won’t be at the RAN qualification tournament in August, the women should qualify for the Olympics with ease.
The men fell further off the pace in trying to avoid the relegation tournament. With two tournaments left, Singapore next week and Toulouse in May, it’s looking unlikely that Canada will make up the 18 points on Spain and 17 points on Uruguay to contest for the 11th spot and exemption from the relegation tournament in London. Spain made the quarter-final in Hong Kong which gave them 10 series points and allowed them to pass Uruguay who garnered 5 series points. Canada earned 2 series points in Hong Kong. Canada are in a pool with Fiji, Spain and Samoa in Singapore so they’ll have a chance to go head to head against Spain in that tournament.
The women only have two tournaments left, Hong Kong in a week’s time and Toulouse in May. Canada won’t make the top 4 for automatic Olympic qualification, they’re currently in 8th place, 32 points behind the final qualification spot currently held by Ireland (France automatically qualify as host). The USA are in 3rd spot and are almost certain to earn qualification for the Olympics.
It was a short day for the men. After the excitement of upsetting Australia on Day 1, it hasn’t gone well for them. What are the odds of defeating the 2022 Series winners and them meeting the #2 team in the 13th place semi-final?