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.
They made tough work of the win over Hong Kong to start Day 3, going ahead early with tries by Oworu and Richard then watching Hong Kong score 3 straight tries to go ahead. A final try by David Richard gave Canada the win. The big win for Canada was against Great Britain who had earlier defeated South Africa in pool play. It was Canada’s turn for the comeback, down by 2 tries. D’Shawn Bowen was the hero of that match, scoring two second half tries to tie the match and then Elias Ergas scored the winner at the whistle. The final match against NZ was a bit of a blowout in NZ’s favour and was a chippy affair but erase the first result against Argentina and the last result against NZ and there was some good form by Canada.
Especially pleasing were the performances of the “subs” from last season, Oworu, Richard, Bowen. Isherwood is starting to come into his own as Canada’s playmaker. Canada’s defence still needs some work if they’re going to be consistent on the series this season.
Next up is Dubai in 25 days, Dec 2-3, and will include the women’s tournament as well.
Canada 19 v Hong Kong 17
Canada 17 v Great Britain 12
Canada 5 v New Zealand 33
*Canada Improve on Day 2 in Hong Kong with a Narrow Loss to Ireland and Win Over Kenya – Face Hong Kong in 9th Place Quarter-Final: Match Videos*
Canada put in a much better performance on Day 2, losing a close match to Ireland then defeating Kenya. Matt Oworu and David Richard have worked their way into the starting lineup and continue to play well. Richard scored the opening try for Canada against Ireland in their 19-17 loss, also scoring in that match were Anton Ngongo and Alex Russell.
In the second match Canada prevailed 19-14 with Phil Berna coming to life with two tries and a much better performance from him. Lockie Kratz also notched a try.
Canada will now face Hong Kong in the 9th place quarter-final (7:35pm PT), a win there would put them up against the winner of Great Britain vs Japan.
Canada v Kenya
Canada v Ireland
*Canada Lose to Argentina 36-0 to Open Pool Play in Hong Kong: Match Video*
Argentina scored their first try at 30 seconds, their second try at 50 seconds, by 4 minutes they had 4 tries, by 5 minutes they were bringing in the subs. The half time score was 26-0, the final 36-0. Canada were never in the match, the players didn’t look sharp or energetic. Matt Oworu and David Richard who subbed in at 9 minutes added a bit of enthusiastic endeavour when they came on, Oworu dishing out some hits and Richard with Canada’s lone attacking foray. Canada’s next pool match is against Ireland (8pm PT) who defeated Kenya 28-12. Canada close out Day 2 with a match against Kenya (11:45pm PT).
In other play Samoa upset NZ 24-0, Uruguay, the new team on the series, put in a decent showing against South Africa, losing 21-0. Great Britain, a new concept on the series, struggled losing to France 34-0. USA just squeaked past Spain 15-14.
Canada v Argentina
*Hong Kong 7s Kicks Off Friday: Canada Names Team*
Is it World 7s Series time already? Usually the series kicks off in December in Dubai but this year it’s a month earlier for the men in Hong Kong. The Dubai tournament is next in December for both the men and women. South Africa is also in December, then NZ and Australia in January, LA in February, then Vancouver in March. There will be no Langford this year as both the men and women will share Vancouver. Then Hong Kong gets another tournament in March, this time for men and women, Singapore in April, France and London in May to end the season.
Canada’s men’s team looks the same as last season with the addition of Kal Sager. Cooper Coats isn’t listed this tournament, that may indicate he’s on the XVs tour to the Netherlands.
Canada kick off the tournament against Argentina on Friday, then Ireland and Kenya on Saturday. It’s a tough pool to start the season as Argentina and Ireland are strong teams and Kenya is rebuilding under former Canada coach, Damian McGrath.
Uruguay are the new series team this season. There was no relegation last year as England, Scotland and Wales were joined into Great Britain for this season. The relegation rules for this season haven’t been announced, normally it’s the bottom team but World Rugby announced 2 men’s teams would be relegated in 2022 before the Great Britain announcement changed the situation.
from Rugby Canada
Canadas Mens Sevens Team roster has been named by Head Coach Henry Paul for the first stop of the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Seven Series in Hong Kong.
Taking place from November 4-6, the Hong Kong event is one of the most iconic events for rugby sevens and returns to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series calendar after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will welcome the best 16 mens sevens teams in the world playing in front of more than 34,000 local fans.
Canadas roster includes the Olympian pairing of Jake Thiel and captain Phil Berna. Between the two, Thiel and Berna have a amount of experience playing on the international sevens stage and will be a vital part of Pauls roster for the series in 2022-23. The rest of Canadas roster is rounded out by returning players from the 2021 and 2022 sevens program who completed their first full season on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series last year. Returnees include their top three try scorers from 2022 Alex Russell, Josiah Morra and Brock Webster.?
The team and I are very excited to begin competing again and its fantastic that the 2022-2023 World Series kicks off in Hong Kong said Paul, a winner with England as a player in Hong Kong on three?occasions.?Last season, as a group we felt that we weren’t as?sharp in our game management around the opportunities we created,?it’s definitely an area?we’re?looking to improve upon.?There is plenty of growth and development still to come within our squad which only formed in the last year and a half?after the Tokyo Olympics. Our squad have been diligent in their preparation in one of the shortest off-seasons weve experienced. We know how tough our oppositions will be in pool play and we respect them immensely. We cant wait to get out on the pitch and play our hearts out for Canada.”
Kal Sager, the only new player on the roster for Hong Kong, joins the squad from Rugby Canadas Pacific Pride program and competed with the BC Mens 7s team at the Rugby Town 7s competition in Denver last August. Sager, from Peterborough, Ontario, spent time playing with his home club the Peterborough Pagans before moving on to play at Trent University. Canada is scheduled to face Argentina, Ireland and Kenya during pool play which begins Friday November 4 at 12:40 a.m. PT / 3:40 a.m. ET. Canadas first game against Argentina will kick off at 1:04 a.m. PT / 4:04 a.m. ET.
SCHEDULE / COVERAGE
For more information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, visit the official website world.rugby/sevens-series. There, you will find the details regarding the event format, schedule and the latest news.
WHERE TO WATCH
Broadcast coverage of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will be available in Canada via CBC. All events are available to live stream via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
CANADAS MENS SEVENS RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS ROSTER
1. Anton Ngongo (Victoria, BC) Castaway Wanderers
2. Jake Thiel (Victoria, BC) James Bay AA
3. DShawn Bowen (Toronto, ON) Pacific Pride
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. Elias Ergas (Vancouver, BC) University of British Columbia
9. David Richard (Milton, ON) Mississauga Blues RFC
10. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) Pacific Pride
11. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) Foothills Lions RFC
12. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
13. Lachlan Kratz (Victoria, BC) Castaway Wanderers / NOLA Gold