Canada Finish in 11/12th Place and Gain 5 Series Points: Match Videos
It was Canada’s 2nd best performance this year, but it’s not enough to escape the relegation tournament looming with only 4 tournaments left to make a difference. Canada finished in a 11th/12th place tie with Uruguay so they didn’t gain any ground on the team holding on to the last safe spot in the series. Uruguay remain in 11th place with 29 points, Canada are 10 points behind in 14th place. Spain were the winner in this tournament, claiming 10th spot and 7 series points, they’re now in 12th spot in the series, only 4 points back of Uruguay. Kenya fell further off the pace finishing in 15th/16th spot and gaining only 1 series point, but they remain ahead of Canada in 13th place with 22 points. Japan continue to occupy the immediate relegation spot in 15th place with 8 points.
Next week is Vancouver and Canada will need a big performance. They’ll need to make the Cup round in one or two of the remaining tournaments to avoid the relegation tournament in London. The question remains, if Canada men aren’t on the series, will it impact World Rugby’s decision for hosting in future years.
The introduction of Carson and Percillier did give the team a bit of a boost, it was their second best result. There’s still team inconsistency on the pitch however, one game the team will put in a solid defensive effort, the next they’ll be dropping off key tackles. A player will make a superb effort to score a try and then mentally switch off and miss a defensive assignment leading to an opposition try. It’s difficult to pinpoint what Canada can do over the next four tournaments to turn things around, except play aggressive defense and maintain their focus consistently throughout the tournament.
Canada 12 – Kenya 5
Canada 12 – Spain 17
*Canada Finish 1-2 on Day 1: Face Kenya in 9th Place QF: Match Videos*
Canada were shutout their first two matches but rebounded for a win against Uruguay. They’ll face Kenya in the 9th place QF on Day 2.
All 5 teams battling in the relegation zone are in the 9th place QF, besides Canada v Kenya, Uruguay face Japan and Spain meet USA.
Canada 26 – Uruguay 10
Canada 0 – Ireland 22
Canada 0 – South Africa 12
from World Rugby
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 returned to action as Fiji, Samoa, Ireland and Great Britain claimed perfect win records on a rain-soaked first day at the HSBC Los Angeles Sevens in California.
Teams, staff, fans and tournament organizers battled through severe weather conditions from opening kick-off until the final whistle, including two extended breaks due to lightning in the area surrounding Dignity Health Sports Park, which caused the day to run well over its planned running time.
Day two on Sunday the mens quarter-finals begin at 10:23 and the line-up sees Samoa v Argentina, Fiji v South Africa, Great Britain v New Zealand and Ireland v Australia.
Cape Town winners Samoa opened their tournament with a clinical 26-19 victory over hosts USA before a decisive win over invitational team Chile (31-5) and finished the day with arguably the most exciting match of the afternoon beating Series leaders New Zealand 14-7 to top Pool A. New Zealand claimed second place to secure their spot in the quarter-finals, while USA pulled off a come-from-behind win over Chile through a try at the death by Gavan DAmore to finish third and give their home fans a thrilling ending to their day.
Dubai silver medal winners Ireland finished on top of Pool B with an undefeated record after wins over Uruguay (7-0), Canada (22-0) and South Africa (14-5). Uruguay, who defeated South Africa for the first time ever, Canada and the Blitzboks finished in a three-way tie, however the Africans would advance to the quarter-finals based on the best points differential.
Double Olympic champions Fiji got off to a flying start in Pool A with a 50-00 win over Japan before a 19-5 victory in a fierce encounter with Kenya and a last-second 15-12 win against Hong Kong champions Australia. Kenya were cheered on by a large, colourful and vocal contingent in the crowd and did not disappoint their fans as they defeated Australia (12-7) but ultimately lost a nail-biter to Japan (7-5). Australia defeated Japan (24-10) in their second game of the day, which saw them advance to Sundays quarter-finals.
Fiji head coach Ben Gollings said: Were used to the wet and mud, but not when its five degrees instead of 30 so its a good test of all areas of our game, and to come away with three good wins like that is fantastic. From our perspective, I think the boys managed the day really well, and it sets us up for tomorrow.
It is the most competitive season to date and everybody is vying for those four spots to automatically qualify for the Olympics which adds to how competitive it is. Every game is key because it leads to points.
Great Britain were the form team in Pool D with three straight victories over Argentina (7-5), Spain (24-17) and France (21-14) to top the pool. Argentina secured wins against France (17-12) and Spain (19-7) to book their spot in Sundays cup quarter-finals.
Great Britain mens captain Robbie Fergusson said: We knew the weather would be a bit of a leveller at certain times and it does make it a lot of an attitude thing. So we spoke a lot about why were here as a group, and what we want to achieve, and a lot of today came down to attitude and I think you saw it in that last game. Argentina are one of the best teams in the world right now, France are regularly a top four team so we knew what we had to do this weekend.
Were slowly building as a group and I think getting better every tournament and other teams are starting to notice that as well.
The 2023 Series is shaping up to be the most competitive in history with the prize of Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualification on offer for the top four womens and mens teams in the 2023 Series standings, while hosts France have pre-qualified for next year’s pinnacle event in the nations capital.
The Mens Series has seen nine different teams reach the Cup Semi-Final stage, with all nine nations medaling across the first five tournaments. There have been five different gold medal winners (Australia, Samoa, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand), four different silver medalists (Fiji, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand twice) and four bronze medalists (France, New Zealand, Fiji and USA twice).
New Zealand currently sit atop the Series standings with 85 points, followed by South Africa at 76 points and five nations (Samoa, France, Fiji, Argentina and USA) are separated by just two points between 68 and 66 in the race for the final two spots for Paris 2024.
The stakes couldnt be higher at the bottom end of the mens Series this season as well. Following the penultimate event in Toulouse, the 15th ranked team will be relegated to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2024 while the 12th through 14th ranked teams will face off against the Challenger Series 2023 winner for the 12th and final position on the 2024 Series.
Finals day on Sunday begins with the ninth place quarter-final at 08:55 local time (GMT-8) and concludes with the cup final at 17:28.
*Canada Names Team for LA 7s – Five Changes Made From Sydney*
Sean White is shaking things up a bit bringing in two UBC players for the two North American stops. Who will be the 13th man remains to be seen but Jack Carson has been lighting things up in the BC Premier and hopefully gets a shot to showcase his talent. Gone from the last tournament are DShawn Bowen, Anton Ngongo, Jarvis Dashkewytch, Dawson Fatoric, Brock Webster. Returning are Alex Russell, Elias Ergas and Lockie Kratz.
There will also be a Maple Leaf team entered in the LA 7s Invitational as coach Sean White needs to quickly see who can step up and make a difference with the team teetering on a relegation pathway.
Canada’s games start at 11:49am PT with South Africa as their first opponent, followed by Ireland and Uruguay. Canada (14th) needs to gain ground on Uruguay (11th) while keeping pace with Kenya (12th) and Spain (13th) and staying ahead of Japan (15th).
from Rugby Canada
Canadas Mens Sevens Team roster for the LA Sevens, the sixth stop on the mens HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, has been named by interim Head Coach Sean White.
Canada will compete in Pool B at Dignity Health Sports Park, with games against South Africa, Ireland and Uruguay on Saturday February 25 and playoffs on Sunday February 26. This is the last Sevens Series tournament before Vancouver hosts the Canada Sevens over March 3-5.
Returning to the roster after recovery from injury are Alex Russell and Lockie Kratz, who both last appeared for Canada at the Cape Town Sevens in December.
Matt Percillier and Jack Carson, who both earned their first caps for Canadas Mens Sevens Team in September 2021 at the World Rugby Sevens Series stop in Vancouver, are on the roster for the first time this season. The two 21-year-old players from Victoria, BC had standout performances for UBC in the fall, significantly contributing towards winning the 2022 Canadian University Mens Rugby Championship. They trained with Canadas Mens Sevens Team in the week prior to selection and have been granted a short-term release from UBC to join the team in LA and Vancouver and further their rugby development.
Preparations have gone well in the lead up to the LA Sevens. Weve been lucky to be able to have a significant amount of our Maple Leaf West players join us this past week to help the Mens Sevens Team prepare and to give that Maple Leaf West development group meaningful time together before they participate in the Elite division of the LA Sevens Invitational, said interim Head Coach Sean White. We have also extended our squad to include Jack Carson and Matt Percillier. Theyve provided an extra level of competitiveness that has elevated our groups preparations for LA. Although we have the added excitement of Vancouver around the corner, the group remains steadfast and focused on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with South Africa, Ireland and Uruguay in our LA pool.
Canadas Mens Sevens Team opens pool play on Saturday February 25 against South Africa at 11:49 a.m. PT / 2:49 p.m. ET, followed by Ireland at 2:40 p.m. PT / 5:40 p.m. PT and Uruguay at 6:35 p.m. PT / 9:35 p.m. ET.
SCHEDULE / COVERAGE
For the most up to date information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and live coverage, visit the official website world.rugby/sevens-series. There you will find 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 ROSTER
2. Jake Thiel (Victoria, BC) James Bay AA
4. Phil Berna (Vancouver, BC) Vancouver Rowing Club
5. Alex Russell (Chichester, ENG) McGill University
6. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) Castaway Wanderers / Toronto Saracens
11. Elias Ergas (Vancouver, BC) University of British Columbia
14. Josh Thiel (Victoria, BC) James Bay AA
19. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) Pacific Pride
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) Foothills Lions RFC
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
44. Lockie Kratz (Victoria, BC) Castaway Wanderers / NOLA Gold
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) Bytown Blues
88. Matt Percillier (Victoria, BC) University of British Columbia
99. Jack Carson (Victoria, BC) University of British Columbia