Canadian Women Win Bronze in LA: Men’s Program Fails to Qualify for Division 2
The Canadian women won Bronze in LA at the World Rugby 7s final, their future looks solid as they look to compete in the 8 team World Rugby division 1 series next season. The men’s program, not so much, they lost to Kenya in the 2nd/3rd playoff for entry to division 2 and now the Canadian men’s path back to division 1 looks very complicated.
The Canadian men will have to compete at the regional level, likely the RAN 7s, with Mexico and the Caribbean nations. Assuming they win that tournament they’ll be entered in an 8 team division 3 tournament with the top 2 teams getting promoted to division 2. Also in that division 3 tournament will be teams like Samoa, who didn’t qualify, Portugal, who didn’t qualify and Chile who didn’t even make this tournament. It’s going to be a difficult path and now questions will emerge on the future of the program and the coach. It’s not only the loss of ranking but the money that comes with it, apparently $300k to the teams that made div 2. Ironically Germany, who were defeated by Canada in the final pool match, went on to defeat Samoa 31-0 in their 2nd/3rd match and will advance to division 2.
Canada 22 – Germany 17 (Men)
Germany scored off their first possession, 7-0 with just over a minute gone. Jamie Armstrong replied for Canada beating the defender on the outside, 7-5. Germany scored on the outside with a minute left in the half, 12-5. Canada secured the kickoff with time having expired in the half, however they decided to run it out from inside their 22 instead of kicking it into touch and ending the half. It didn’t go well as they got turned over in the ruck and Germany scored again, 17-5 to end the half and it wasn’t looking good for Canada at this time. Morgan di Nardo was again the man of the hour as he took first phase ball off the liineout and just split the defence for a solo 60m try, Isherwood converted, 17-12, and Canada were in the all important bonus point range now if the score remained the same. There was a minute left now with Germany having an attacking scrum just outside Canada’s 22, if the score didn’t change then Canada would face Samoa in the playoff match. Canada won a penalty and immediately were on attack, di Nardo had another line break down the wing but dished it off to a supporting player, 4 passes and 1 ruck later it was Isherwood offloading to Kainoa Lloyd on the other wing for a try at the whistle, 17-17. The conversion was missed so the match went into a 5 minute overtime with first point to win. Morgan di Nardo got the ball from about 50′ out on some broken play, pinned his ears back and blew past defenders to win the game. Canada face Kenya in a winner take all match for entry to the division 2 series next season.
Canada 7 – Australia 33 (Women)
Not much to say except Australia and NZ are a level above the rest right now. NZ defeated USA 34-7 so it will be Canada v USA for Bronze.
Canada 7 – Kenya 24 (Men)
Kenya scored first after turning the ball over at the breakdown. Canada were unlucky as the ref missed a clear knock on in the build up to the try, no TMO review however. Kenya scored a couple of minutes later, again after turning the ball over at the breakdown. Canada have a real weakness at the contact area and are going to have to start identifying players who can bring the physicality at this level of play. Kenya added another one with two minutes left in the half and it was becoming a rout, again physicality came into play as the Kenyan defenders held the Canadian player up from the kick off to win the maul contest, 19-0. That was the way the half ended. Kenya scored first in the second half, 24-0, with 3 minutes left in the game. James Thiel scored in the last minute off a nice run and offload by Ethan Turner, final 24-7 for Kenya.
Canada 27 – USA 7 (Women)
USA scored first a minute into the match, 7-0. USA picked up a yellow card, and Canada took advantage finding Charity Williams out wide for a try, 7-5. The Canadian women were applying some physicality in the contact area, Florence Symonds just flung a USA player to the ground and when she finished bouncing Olivia Apps was there to poach the ball. Canada scored from the tap on the penalty as they found Carissa Norsten on the wing, 10-7, and USA were back to full strength. Florence Symonds again throws a player to the ground and Breanne Nicolas is there to poach the ball, it leads to another Canada try by Asia Hogan-Rochester, 15-7 at the half. Asia Hogan-Rochester scored a try with superb effort on both sides of the ball, USA kicked the ball, Hogan-Rochester ran back to dive on the ball, out muscled the USA player for the ball, fended off a tackle and sprinted in from 60 metres out, 22-7. Asia Hogan-Rochester scored the hat trick with a try out wide to make the final 27-7 and a Bronze for Canada.
from World Rugby
New Zealand and South Africa crowned HSBC SVNS 2025 Champions in LA
New Zealand women and South Africa men were crowned HSBC SVNS 2025 champions after securing stirring victories at the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles
- New Zealand women and South Africa men win thrilling HSBC SVNS World Championship 2025 in Los Angeles
- Olympic champions New Zealand show class to beat Australia 31-7 in women’s final
- South Africa overcome Spain 19-5 in men’s final to take gold
- Canada beat hosts USA 27-7 for women’s bronze, while New Zealand defeat SVNS league winners Argentina 38-17 to take men’s bronze
- Brazil, China, Kenya and Spain women, along with Uruguay, USA, Kenya and Germany men secure places in HSBC SVNS 2026 Division two following success in LA Play Off
- Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez and New Zealand’s Jorja Miller named men’s and women’s HSBC SVNS Player of the Year
- New Zealand women and South Africa men were crowned HSBC SVNS 2025 champions after securing stirring victories at the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles.
South Africa claimed their fifth men’s Series title, and first since 2021 by beating a valiant Spanish side 19-5 to bring down the curtain on the 2025 international rugby sevens season.
Selvyn Davids was named HSBC Player of the Match and scored the opening try from deep to break the deadlock. Spain’s captain Pol Pla brought his team to within two points with a fine try but Mfundo Ndhlovu extended South Africa’s advantage and Ricardo Duarttee scored in the dying seconds.
South Africa Head Coach Philip Snyman said: “The team never stopped believing. They played five phenomenal games and were unstoppable. This team can go places. I am very proud of them.”
Spain were ranked tenth in 2024 and have never won a Series event so silver medals represent impressive progress.
The women’s final featured Olympic gold medallists New Zealand and reigning SVNS champions Australia who have played out some epic encounters over this SVNS Series.
New Zealand added more silverware to their collection as they beat Australia for the fourth time in a row to win the World Championship
Already SVNS League winners, they proved too strong for a young but immensely talented Australia team. HSBC Player of the Match Jorja Miller scored a marvellous try to get her team going, picking up from her own 22 to score her 29th of the season and the Black Ferns Sevens went on to show their dominance with a 31-7 final score.
New Zealand captain Sarah Hirini said: “Man, that feels good. After the Olympic gold medal we wanted to show we are a great team and to us that was winning the League and winning the [World Championship] Series and we did it.”
New Zealand overcame SVNS league winners Argentina 38-17 to take men’s bronze, while hosts the USA were unable to replicate their Olympic bronze medal winning exploits on home soil as they were beaten 27-7 by Olympic silver medallists Canada in the women’s bronze medal match.
Beside the World Championship action, the HSBC SVNS Play Off competition saw the teams ranked ninth to twelfth in HSBC SVNS 2025 vying with the top four ranked teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger for four qualification spots to HSBC SVNS Division two in 2026.
The pool winners secured their SVNS division two status automatically with Brazil and China women and USA and Uruguay men securing their spots thanks to a hat-trick of pool wins.
Meanwhile the teams who finished second and third in their pools faced a winner-takes all Play Off final match on Sunday for a place in SVNS division two.
Both Kenya’s teams were successful, with the men beating Canada 24-5 and the women overcoming South Africa 17-14, to delight their large contingent of fans inside the stadium.
Germany produced perhaps the outstanding performance to thrash Samoa 31-0 and claim the last remaining men’s spot, while Spain’s women saw off Argentina 28-0 to secure their place.
The unsuccessful Play Off teams will begin the 2026 season in their respective regional competitions from which they have the opportunity to qualify for a standalone SVNS division three event, where they can reach SVNS division two by finishing in the top two. From there teams will have the opportunity to progress all the way through to the three HSBC SVNS World Championships Series events in the same season.
World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson who was in attendance in Los Angeles said: “LA delivered a finale to savour in what has been a season to remember. The HSBC SVNS World Championship demonstrated sport at its enthralling, brilliant and emotional best with teams and fans experiencing the highs and lows of play-off rugby. Congratulations to our worthy champions New Zealand and South Africa, and to all the teams, match officials and event teams who have made this season so special.
“We now look ahead to a new era for Sevens and a new competition model that provides certainty and opportunity on the road to what promises to be a spectacular LA 2028 Olympic Games.”
HSBC SVNS 2026 COMPETITION MODEL >>
Following an action-packed season, the superstars of sevens were celebrated as the HSBC SVNS Awards 2025 took place on the pitch at the end of the finals.
Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez and New Zealand’s Jorja Miller named men’s and women’s HSBC SVNS Player of the Year, while France’s Enahemo Artaud and USA’s Nia Toliver claimed the Rookie of the Year awards. Artaud follow’s compatriot Anton Dupont who won the accolade in 2024 prior to leading France to Olympic gold on home soil in Paris.
Australia’s Maddison Levi finished as women’s top try scorer, the 23 year-old superstar scoring 54 tries in HSBC SVNS 2025, becoming the first woman to be top try-scorer in three consecutive seasons and the fastest woman to 200 career SVNS tries. She now sits third on the all-time leading try-scorer list behind New Zealand’s Michaela Brake on 287 and Portia Woodman-Wickcliffe with 256.
Argentina’s Marcos Moneta and Fiji’s Joji Nasova were joint top try scorer’s in the men’s series with 26 tries each. Nasova also finished as top points scorer with 158 points over the season.
VIEW HSBC SVNS AWARDS WINNERS >>
Canadian Women Through to Cup Semi-Final in LA; Men 1-1 on Day 1, Face Germany on Day 2
The Canadian women’s team went 2-1 on Day 1 and are into the Cup semi-final against Australia on Day 2. They’ll either play in the Bronze or Gold medal match. The situation is more complicated for the men’s team as they finished 1-1 on Day 1 and face Germany in their final pool match on Day 2.
Here are the scenarios for the men’s team. Uruguay have claimed top spot in Canada’s pool and their tournament goal is accomplished, they advance to next season’s division 2 series. They have one pool game left against Ireland but that result won’t change their top pool ranking as neither Canada or Germany can overtake them. Canada face Germany to determine who finishes 2nd, and possibly 3rd, in the pool. If Canada defeats Germany they’ll finish 2nd in the pool and play the 3rd place team in the other pool, likely Samoa or Kenya, to determine who goes into the division 2 series next season. If Canada loses to Germany without a bonus point, then they have to hope Uruguay defeats Ireland, that will put them in 3rd place and give them a match versus 2nd place in the other pool. The worst case scenario for Canada is they lose to Germany without a bonus point, Ireland defeat Uruguay, in which case Canada are done and will have to start all over again next season at the regional level.
The following are notes during Canada’s games on Day 1, plus the World Rugby summary of Day 1.
Canada 7 – Uruguay 24 (Men)
Uruguay ran in four tries and Canada scored one at the final whistle, it wasn’t a close game. Uruguay just out muscled Canada at the contact area early on and set the tone for the match. Uruguay’s first try was set up by two wins at the contact area, they won a penalty on Canada’s possession by getting over the ball, and then won another penalty on their possession when the Canadian tackler was on the wrong side. On their second try they destroyed Canada’s scrum when Canada were putting in on their own 5 metres. They were awarded the penalty, tapped and were over. When you get dominated at the contact area, it’s difficult to win. Germany defeated Ireland 15-0, Canada face Ireland in their next match in a must win situation. The top team in each pool gets through and then the 2nd/3rd from each pool battle it out for the remaining 2 spots.
TRIES: ETHAN TURNER (17′)
CONVERSIONS: ETHAN TURNER (17′)
Canada 26 – Japan 0 (Women)
It was all Canada in their first match of the tournament.
TRIES:
ASIA HOGAN-ROCHESTER (1′,9′)
FLORENCE SYMONDS (8′)
OLIVIA APPS (11′)
CONVERSIONS: ASIA HOGAN-ROCHESTER (9′,9′,12′)
Canada 26 – Great Britain 17 (Women)
Canada went ahead 12-0 on tries by Asia Hogan-Rochester and Charity Williams, GB replied with one at the 5 minute mark, 12-5. Williams picked up a yellow with a minute left in the half, GB took advantage and the half ended 12-10. Canada opened the 2nd half with a try by Flo Symonds set up by Breanne Nicholas, 19-10. Olivia Apps added another with 2 minutes left, 26-10. GB scored at the whistle for a 26-17 final.
TRIES:
ASIA HOGAN-ROCHESTER (1′)
CHARITY WILLIAMS (3′)
FLORENCE SYMONDS (9′)
OLIVIA APPS (12′)
CONVERSIONS: ASIA HOGAN-ROCHESTER (3′,10′,13′)
Canada 19 – Ireland 12 (Men)
The game started off shaky for Canada, Jamie Armstrong had a breakaway try after the Ireland defender slipped but instead of diving over the line he slid in feet first and put the ball down short of the line, a sure try nullified. Ireland got the first try of the match on the next phase of play, 5-0. Isherwood scored for Canada with 2 minutes left in the half, converted, 7-5 for Canada. Canada botched another try attempt to end the half, they had prolonged pressure inside the Ireland 5 metres and with a bit of patience would have broken through but two consecutive attempts were held up in goal as each player tried to do it on their own, the second held up ended the half. Canada were ahead 7-5 and you could feel the desperation by Canada for this must win. Ireland scored first in the second half however as Canada looked to be in panic mode, making low percentage offloads that were losing them possession, 12-7 for Ireland. Canada needed someone to step up and settle the team down. Morgan di Nardo was the man to do it, he picked up a ball from a ruck on his side of half, beat several defenders and touched down between the posts, 14-12 for Canada with over 3 minutes left. Kyle Tremblay added another a minute from time to seal the victory, 19-14. Canada are now well placed to finish 2nd/3rd in the pool and play in a winner take all match with the 2nd/3rd in the other pool. Canada 1-1 face Germany 1-1 tomorrow in the final pool match, if Uruguay 2-0 defeat Ireland 0-2 then both Germany and Canada will advance from their pool to the playoff games while Uruguay will claim top spot and automatically qualify as one of the four teams going to the Division 2 series next season. USA at 2-0 in pool play look well placed to top the other pool and advance.
TRIES:
THOMAS ISHERWOOD (5′)
MORGAN DI NARDO (11′)
KYLE TREMBLAY (13′)
CONVERSIONS:
THOMAS ISHERWOOD (5′)
ETHAN TURNER (11′)
Canada 5 – NZ 41 (Women)
NZ showing their at another level as they humbled Canada 41-5 in the final pool round. It sets up a Canada v Australia cup semi-final with USA facing NZ in the other semi.
CARISSA NORSTEN (6′)
from World Rugby
The battle to become HSBC SVNS 2025 champions began in exciting fashion on day one of the World Championship in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles hosting HSBC SVNS 2025 World Championship and Play Off with world’s best 16 men’s and women’s teams in action on 3-4 May at Dignity Health Sports Park
- World Championship semi-final line-ups confirmed, women’s: New Zealand v USA, Australia v Canada. Men’s: Spain v Argentina, South Africa v New Zealand
- Day one results see China women and Uruguay men qualify from HSBC SVNS Play Off to secure their places in SVNS division two next season
- Finals day begins at 10:00 (GMT-7) on Sunday, with the World Championship semi-finals from 12:40 and the women’s and men’s finals at 17:05 and 17:41 respectively
- Fans can find out where to watch here, while remaining tickets are available from $49 here
The battle to become HSBC SVNS 2025 champions began in exciting fashion on day one of the World Championship in Los Angeles, while a large and vocal crowd at the venue for the Olympic Games LA28 rugby sevens competition also cheered the high stakes HSBC SVNS Play Off matches.
The HSBC SVNS World Championship features the eight top ranked men’s and women’s teams from HSBC SVNS 2025 competing in two pools of four teams each.
At the end of a thrilling first day of sevens action at Dignity Health Sports Park there were four teams left in the fight to take the titles as the semi-finals were decided.
RESULTS, POOLS AND FIXTURES >>
Women’s Olympic champions New Zealand were in unstoppable form with a hat-trick of victories over Canada, Great Britain and Japan to seal top spot in pool A.
Olympic silver medallists Canada join the Black Ferns Sevens in the semi-finals where they will face reigning SVNS champions Australia who finished day one with a perfect win record after dispatching France, Fiji and the USA to lead pool B.
The hosts and Olympic bronze medallists recovered to beat Fiji and France and claim their place in the semi-finals where they will face New Zealand.
It was tight at the top of men’s pool B as Spain, New Zealand and Australia tied on seven points each and it was Australia who narrowly missed out on the semi-finals due to an inferior points difference.
South Africa overcame Argentina 29-21 in the last match of the day to secure top spot in pool A as both teams reached the semi-finals.
Spain will face Argentina while New Zealand’s All Blacks Sevens will take on South Africa in what promise to be hotly contested semi-finals.
New Zealand women and Argentina men are aiming to back-up the HSBC SVNS 2025 League Winners titles they claimed in Singapore at the sixth and final regular season round in April.
Alongside the World Championship, the SVNS Play Off competition involves the teams ranked ninth to twelfth in HSBC SVNS 2025 together with the top four ranked teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger.
Four successful teams will qualify from the Play Off competition to HSBC SVNS division two in 2026. The pool winners secure their SVNS division two status automatically and China women and Uruguay men achieved this feat on day one in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile the teams who finish second and third in their pools will face a winner-takes all Play Off final match on Sunday for a place in SVNS division two, while the bottom placed teams in the pools miss out.
The USA’s Lucas Lacamp was the top men’s try scorer on day one with four tries, helping the hosts to a pair of wins over Portugal and Samoa. If the USA overcome Kenya – recent finalists in Singapore – in their last pool match on Sunday they will secure their spot in SVNS division two.
In women’s pool A there will be a straight shoot-out between Brazil and Spain for a place in SVNS division two as both countries claimed a pair of victories over Colombia and Kenya on day one.
The unsuccessful Play Off teams will begin the 2026 season in their respective regional competitions from which they have the opportunity to qualify for a standalone SVNS division three event where they can reach SVNS division two by finishing in the top two.
HSBC SVNS 2026 COMPETITION MODEL >>
Finals day in Los Angeles begins at 10:00 local time (GMT-7) on Sunday, with the World Championship semi-finals from 12:40 and the women’s and men’s finals at 17:05 and 17:41 respectively.
Following an action-packed season, the superstars of sevens will be celebrated as the HSBC SVNS Awards 2025 take place with Rookie, Top Try Scorer and Player of the Year among the categories set to be presented at the final showdown in Los Angeles on Sunday, 4 May.
Canada Men’s and Women’s Teams Named for LA Tournaments on May 3rd and 4th
The Canadian men’s and women’s teams are heading to LA next weekend but for different tournaments. The women will be competing with the top 8 teams to determine a series champion, the men will be entering a repechage tournament to determine who gets promoted next season. What promotion means is now up in the air with rumours circulating that the core series will be reduced to 8 teams next season but the teams ranked 9 to 12 will have extra tournament opportunities and funds. Hopefully World Rugby will announce what next season looks like before this weekend’s tournament.
Looking at the schedule on the LA SVNS website, it appears there will be only one playoff game for the men to determine the top 4. The top placed team in each of the 2 pools will automatically be ranked top 4, then the 2nd and 3rd place teams battle it out to determine the remaining 2 spots with 2A v 3B and 2B v 3A. Canada are in a pool with Uruguay, Ireland and Germany.
The women will complete their pool round on Saturday and then the placement games start on Sunday with the top 2 in each pool going to the Cup semi-finals. Canada are in a pool with Japan, Great Britain, and New Zealand.
CANADA’S WOMEN’S SEVENS TEAM ROSTER
4. Breanne Nicholas (Blenheim, ON) – Kent Havoc RFC
6. Charity Williams (Toronto, ON) – Markham Irish / University of British Columbia
7. Florence Symonds (Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia
8. Carmen Izyk (High River, AB) – Foothills lions / Queen’s University / RCTPM
9. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC
16. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) – CRFC / Saracens
19. Carissa Norsten (Waldheim, SK) – Kirin RFC / University of Victoria
22. Sabrina Poulin (St-Georges, QC) – Town of Mount Royal RFC / Exeter Chiefs
23. Shalaya Valenzuela (Abbotsford, BC) – Abbotsford RFC
24. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads / Westshore RFC
26. Savannah Bauder (North Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia
29. Mahalia Robinson (Fulford, QC) – Town of Mount Royal RFC
47. Larah Wright (Calgary, AB) – University of Victoria
CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS TEAM ROSTER
1. Rhys James (Kelowna, BC) – UBC Okanagan / Pacific Pride
2. James Thiel (Abbotsford, BC) – Abbotsford RFC / Pacific Pride
3. Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, BC) – Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
5. Alex Russell (Bracebridge, ON) – McGill University
13. Brenden Black (Oakville, ON) – Oakville Crusaders / Guelph University
15. Ethan Hager (Brantford, ON) – Brantford Harlequins / Castaway Wanderers
18. Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, ON) – Toronto City Rugby / University of Victoria
20. Jamie Armstrong (Ottawa, ON) – Ottawa Irish / University of Ottawa
22. Kyle Tremblay (White Rock, BC) – Pacific Pride / Bayside RFC
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) – Foothills Lions RFC / Westshore RFC
30. Kainoa Lloyd (Mississauga, ON) – Mississauga Blues / James Bay AA
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) – Bytown Blues / University of Ottawa
from Rugby Canada
The players that will represent Canada at the final stop of the 2025 HSBC SVNS season in Los Angeles over May 3 to 4 have been announced by Head Coaches Jocelyn Barrieau and Sean White.
Dignity Health Sports Park, the rugby sevens venue for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, will host the winner-takes-all HSBC SVNS World Championship, which will see Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team compete in Pool A against League Winners New Zealand, Japan, and Great Britain. Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will compete in the HSBC SVNS Play-off, taking on Uruguay, Ireland and Germany in Pool B.
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team enters this final leg of the series ranked fourth overall, following back-to-back bronze medal finishes in Hong Kong and Singapore.
“Our team has been training this week in Chula Vista alongside our Pacific Four Series squad, living out our One Squad philosophy with combined training sessions and scrimmages as both teams prepare to compete next weekend,” said Jocelyn Barrieau, Head Coach of Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team. “We solidified our foundations and are very proud of our performances in Hong Kong and Singapore. We have identified areas we want to improve on and the gaps we want to close going into Los Angeles. We have a talented, passionate, resilient group of players, and we are all excited to get back on the pitch together in LA.”
The roster includes eight players from the Hong Kong and Singapore double podium finish squad. Charity Williams returns to competition for the first time since HSBC SVNS Vancouver following recovery from injury. Asia Hogan-Rochester and Alysha Corrigan will play with the team for the first time since HSBC SVNS Vancouver as well, with Corrigan having competed in the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) final with the Saracens in March.
Savannah Bauder, who made a strong impression in her international sevens debut in December in Dubai and Cape Town, returns following recovery from an injury sustained during training camp ahead of HSBC SVNS Perth. Larah Wright, who made her debut in Perth, has earned her second opportunity to represent the nation on Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team.
Following the HSBC SVNS World Championship, Alysha Corrigan, Asia Hogan-Rochester, Florence Symonds, Mahalia Robinson and Olivia Apps will join Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team for the remaining matches of the Pacific Four Series in New Zealand and Australia.
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team finished third in the standings following three rounds of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger, qualifying them for the HSBC SVNS Play-off as one of the top four teams.
The journey to Los Angeles started in November, with Canada winning Rugby Americas North Sevens to qualify for the Sevens Challenger. After participating in the men’s invitational held alongside HSBC SVNS Vancouver, they made their way to Cape Town for the first two Sevens Challenger rounds, finishing second and third on back-to-back weekends. The team placed fourth in Krakow for round three.
“We’ve had this tournament circled on our calendar all season,” said Sean White, Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team. “We’ve identified key areas of improvement coming out of Krakow and have made that our focus over the last couple of weeks of camp in Langford. I believe our continuity in selection from Krakow to LA will be a benefit to our on-field performance and cohesion. Our aim is to finish the season as one of the top 12 teams, and we look forward to earning the opportunity to do so.”
The 12 players who represented Canada in Krakow will return to the global stage in Los Angeles, with the addition of Kal Sager, who returns to the squad following recovery from injury. The roster includes Rhys James, Kainoa Lloyd and James Thiel, who made their international sevens debuts in Poland, with James and Lloyd each putting on two-try performances.
Five of these players (Rhys James, Elias Hancock, James Thiel, Kyle Tremblay, Ethan Turner) were also recently named to teams in the new Rugby Premier League (RPL) and will depart for India in June for this unique player development opportunity that will see nine Canadians compete with and against players and coaches from some of the top nations on the HSBC SVNS series.
MORE INFO
For the most up to date information on the HSBC SVNS Series and live coverage, including details on the event format, the schedule and the latest news, visit the official website: www.svns.com.
LOS ANGELES SCHEDULE
*All matches will be available on TSN+, with Saturday’s Pitch 1 pool play matches available on TSN5 as of 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET, and Sunday’s finals available on TSN4 as of 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET.
Saturday May 3
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs Japan
10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET
Watch live on TSN+
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Uruguay
10:22am PT / 1:22pm ET
Watch live on TSN+
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs Great Britain
1:01pm PT / 4:01pm ET
Watch live on TSN+
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Ireland
1:01pm / 4:01pm ET
Watch live on TSN+
Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs New Zealand
4:29pm PT / 7:29pm ET
Watch live on TSN5 / TSN+
Sunday May 4
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Germany
12:12pm PT / 3:12pm ET
Watch live on TSN+
Men’s play-off finals, women’s semi-finals and finals
Times and opponents TBD
Watch live on TSN+ (TSN4 coverage begins at 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET)