South Africa and Australia Claim Gold in Men’s and Women’s 7s: Canadian Women Finish 4th and Canadian Men 7th/8th
The Canadian men and women put in strong performances in their last matches of the tournament, however both ended up in losses.
The Canadian men started quickly against Samoa in the 5th place semi with two tries by Jake Thiel but Samoa came back with three consecutive tries before Cooper Coats finished the match with a try but the conversion to draw even was missed. The match ended 19-17 for Samoa. Samoa claimed 5th place with a win over Scotland who finished 6th. There was no 7th/8th playoff match between Canada and Kenya.
The women faced NZ in the Bronze match and were down 19-0 before Piper Logan started the second half comeback for Canada with a try. Emma Chown added another for Canada with seconds left in the match. The final score was 19-12 for NZ. The story this year for the women’s team was finding the two budding stars, Piper Logan and Krissy Scurfield. Both were standouts in the CanWest 7s series for UBC and UVic respectively.
from World Rugby
There were new names on the Commonwealth Games rugby sevens winners board as Australia and South Africa won gold for the first time in the womens and mens competitions respectively.
Australia raced into a 17-0 half time lead against Fiji in the womens final and despite a spirited fightback from Fijiana, Australia ran out eventual 22-12 winners to add Commonwealth Games gold to their Rio 2016 Olympic triumph and HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 title.
Faith Nathan ran in a pair of tries alongside scores from Madison Ashby and Maddison Levi to secure gold for Australia.
The mens final was a one-sided affair as South Africa dominated from the start to take a 24-0 lead over Fiji thanks to tries from tournament top scorer Angelo Davids, JC Pretorius, Shaun Williams and Muller du Plessis before Waisea Naqucu replied for Fiji, but Mfundo Ndhlovu ran in a fifth try for South Africa at the death to seal a comprehensive 31-7 victory.
South Africa coach Neil Powell said: It was an amazing performance from the guys. Im really happy for the team that they got their reward for all the hard work theyve put in over the last weeks before we came over to England. They are a great bunch of guys who fight for each other, for the team and for the system and Im very proud of them.
It was great to play in front of a full capacity and an amazing atmosphere here. Weve got two big tournaments coming up including the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town where we will have 55,000 people in the stadium with the same energy and hopefully the result will be the same.
New Zealand were unable to repeat their double gold medal success from Gold Coast 2018 and had to settle for bronze in both the womens and mens events in Coventry.
The Black Ferns overcame a spirited Canada 19-12 while the All Blacks Sevens, who had won gold at five of the previous six Commonwealth Games, beat Australia 26-12 in a hotly contested mens bronze medal match.
Earlier in the day there was late drama in the mens semi-finals as Fiji produced a stunning comeback to triumph 19-14 over New Zealand with a golden score in extra time thanks to a try from captain Waisea Nacuqu who ran the length of the field to touch down in the corner and send the crowd into raptures.
Australia scored first in their semi-final against South Africa but a hattrick of tries from the tournaments top scorer Angelo Davids his third hattrick of the competition – and a superb individual effort from Selvyn Davids ensured the Blitzboks ran out 24-12 winners to book their place in the final.
Hosts England finished on a high with a pair of victories for both the mens and womens teams on Sunday. The men beat neighbours Wales 14-10 before a 31-17 victory over an impressive Uganda to secure ninth position.
Englands women beat Scotland 29-5 in the fifth placed playoff. Meanwhile Samoa beat Scotland 24-19 to clinch fifth position in the mens competition and Jamaica defeated Malaysia 28-7 and Sri Lanka 26-24 to claim their first ever Commonwealth Games wins and secure 13th position.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: We have had three fantastic days of scintillating, world class rugby sevens in front of huge crowds at Coventry Stadium in what has been another superb showcase for the sport.
The standard of rugby has been exceptional and congratulations to the medallists who will cherish this moment for years to come. We pay tribute to the Birmingham 2022 organisers for putting on an excellent event in a vibrant stadium and a special thank you to the thousands of volunteers who are the heart of the Games.
The future of sevens is very bright and we now look forward to an exciting climax to the mens HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 in Los Angeles in August, followed by the highly anticipated Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town on 9-11 September, involving 40 of the best teams from across the globe.
*Men Out of Medal Contention with Loss to South Africa; Women in Bronze Medal Match Versus New Zealand*
It was always going to be a long shot for the men to medal at the Commonwealth Games, they were in a 16 team tournament with some of the best rugby playing nations in the world. They ran into South Africa in the quarter-finals and the 33-0 scoreline tells the story. Canada struggled against Zambia in the final pool match to qualify for the quarter-finals, that game was tied at the half but two yellow cards to Zambia helped Canada pull away to a 24-12 win. Canada face Samoa on Sunday in the knock out semi-final for 5th place.
The women lost their semi-final match to Fiji in the 8 team tournament, 24-7. They’ll face NZ in the Bronze medal match, Canada lost to NZ 45-7 in the pool round.
Fiji will face Australia for Gold in the women’s tournament. In the men’s tournament Fiji go up against NZ in one semi-final while South Africa face Australia in the other semi-final.
Men’s Tournament
Canada 24 – Zambia 12
Canada 0 – South Africa 33
Women’s Tournament
Canada 74 – Sri Lanka 0
Canada 7 – Fiji 24
*Canadian Men & Women Still in Medal Hunt After Day 1 – Both With 1-1 Records*
Both the men and women are progressing well in their search for medals at the Commonwealth Games despite both going 1-1 on Day 1.
On the women’s side, Canada ran into the NZ rugby machine in their first match, losing 45-7. They rebounded to defeat England 26-19. Canada need NZ to defeat England on Day 2, while Canada look to run the score up on Sri Lanka. In the 8 team competition, the top two teams from each pool advance directly to the semi-finals. A NZ win over England and a Canada win over Sri Lanka will see Canada finish second in the pool. That would likely put them up against Australia in one semi-final while NZ would likely battle Fiji in the other semi.
On the men’s side, Canada came out strong with a 31-0 win over Wales and then narrowly lost to Fiji 19-12. The top two teams in the four pools advance to the quarter-finals. A Fiji win over Wales on Day 2, along with a Canada win over Zambia would see Canada through to the quarter-finals where they would face the winner of South Africa v Scotland.
Men
Canada 31 – Wales 0
Canada 12 – Fiji 19
Women
Canada 7 NZ 45
Canada 26 v England 19
*Canada Name Teams for Commonwealth Rugby 7s: Rugby Tournament July 29-31*
Canada have named their men’s and women’s teams for the Commonwealth Games Rugby 7s. Notable additions are the return of Josiah Morra from injury on the men’s side, also D’Shawn Bowen returning from the short term injured list. Ciaran Breen returns to the squad after making his 7s debut at Vancouver 7s 2021. Also in the 13 man squad is Elias Hancock who played for the Maple Leaf 7s in 2019 in the South American 7s tournaments. He also had a brief stint with the Pacific Pride earlier this year.
On the women’s side it’s great to see Piper Logan included in the squad for the first time. She was outstanding for UBC in both XVs and 7s, a great stepper, if she goes in with confidence she’ll do well. Krissy Scurfield made the World Series Dream Team her first tournament and Piper Logan has that same potential.
The Rugby 7s tournament takes place at the beginning of the Commonwealth Games, Friday to Sunday, July 29-31.
from Rugby Canada
Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) and Rugby Canada today announced the athletes who will represent Team Canada in Rugby Sevens at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England taking place July 28 to August 8, 2022.
?26 athletes from two teams one Womens and one Mens – make up this years Commonwealth Rugby Sevens Canadian representatives.
Its an honour for each and every one of the team to represent their country at the Commonwealth Games, said Canadas Womens Head Coach Jack Hanratty. We go there with a real hunger to make it into the medal rounds. This new, young squad want to show they have what it takes to perform. Were delighted to be able to welcome Piper [Logan] into the group for her first callup and it shows the strength of our depth chart that we continue to hand out debuts at this time of year following the conclusion of the HSBC Sevens Series.
Heading into the Commonwealth Games, we are delighted with the timely return of Josiah [Morra] back into the roster following injury, said Canadas Mens Sevens Head Coach Henry Paul. This competition provides the team with an opportunity to represent their country at one of the most renowned major games in the world. The competition is fierce with both the Olympic Gold (Fiji) and Silver (New Zealand) medalists in action and with both countries currently playing at the highest level. Were heading to the UK excited and also determined to make our mark on the tournament, with the quality of opposition it will take the maximum concentration and efforts of all our squad to do this.
Team Canada leadership are eager to see Canadas best rugby players play for it all on the rugby pitch.
Rugby 7s has been played at every Commonwealth Games since Kuala Lumpur 1998, but the womens event played for the first time at Gold Coast 2018, says Scott Stevenson, Executive Director, Team Canada 2022. Knowing the caliber of both the womens and mens teams, we cant wait to see Canada take on the strongest teams in the Commonwealth and fight for medals.
The Womens team sees Piper Logan of Calgary, AB receive her first international call up, while Chloe Daniels returns to the roster after missing both the Langford and France Sevens. Having represented Canadas Senior Womens 15s at the Pacific Four Series in New Zealand last month, crossover athletes Pamphinette Buisa and Renee Gonzalez return to Sevens action. Breanne Nicholas and Olivia Apps will co-captain the side.
The Mens roster includes three crossover athletes – Cooper Coats, Brock Webster and Matthew Oworu who all started in Canadas Mens 15s international test match against Spain in Ottawa last weekend. Ciaran Breen is named on the roster for the first time this year having rejoined the teams training environment in May following his stint playing professionally in France, while Josiah Morra returns to the side after recovering from injury. Phil Berna will captain the Mens team.
The Rugby Sevens competition will take place at Coventry Stadium from Friday July 29 to Sunday July 31.
Birmingham 2022 will feature 19 sports and 8 para-sports as part of its program with up to 4,500 athletes taking part. The Commonwealth Games are the only multi-sport event that feature equal standing for sport and para-sport events, and these 2022 Games will showcase the largest para-sport program ever. In addition, for the first time in its history, the Games will feature more medal events for women (135) than men (133).
?Canadas Womens Sevens team which will represent Canada at the Birmingham 2022 includes:
1. Olivia De Couvreur (Ottawa, ON) – Ottawa Irish
2. Renee Gonzalez (Toronto, ON) University of Victoria
3. Pamphinette Buisa (Gatineau, QC) – Ottawa Irish/University of Victoria
4. Breanne Nicholas (Blenheim, ON) – London St. Georges
5. Nakisa Levale (Abbotsford, BC) – Abbotsford RFC
6. Emma Chown (Barrie, ON) Aurora Barbarians & Queens University
7. Chloe Daniels (Sutton, ON) – RC Maple Leafs Academy/Queens University
8. Bianca Farella (Montreal, QC) Town of Mount Royal RFC
9. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC
10. Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, AB) – Nor’wester Athletic Association/Westshore RFC
11. Piper Logan (Calgary, AB) Calgary Hornets/UBC Thunderbirds
12. Keyara Wardley (Vulcan, AB) Okotoks Lions
13. Krissy Scurfield (Canmore, AB) University of Victoria
Canadas Mens Sevens team which will represent Canada at the Birmingham 2022 includes:
1. Anton Ngongo (Victoria, BC) Castaway Wanderers
2. Jake Thiel (Abbotsford, BC) Abbotsford RFC
3. Nick Allen (North Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia
4. Phil Berna (Vancouver, BC) Vancouver Rowing Club
5. Alex Russell (Chichester, ENG) – McGill University
6. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) Castaway Wanderers/Toronto Saracens
7. Brock Webster (Uxbridge, ON) Oshawa Vikings RFC
8. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) Halifax Tars
9. DShawn Bowen (Toronto, ON) Pacific Pride
10. Lachlan Kratz (Victoria, BC) NOLA Gold
11. Ciaran Breen (Victoria, BC) Cowichan RFC
12. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) Pacific Pride
13. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) Bytown Blues