Canada Finish Second in Cape Town – Chile Claim Top Spot
The Canadian men reached the top 2 in the tournament which would have met pre-tournament goals. Canada just have to finish top 4 in the three tournaments to make it to the LA tournament and vie for promotion. They found out Chile are a step above any other team at the Challenger tournament, and they now have an idea on how far they have to improve to get back to series level.
Canada opened the day against Germany and won a close match to advance to the finals. They then came up against Chile who had just put Samoa to the sword, 33-14, and it was close for a half but Chile pulled away easily in the 2nd half. It looks like Chile are the class of the tournament and Canada, Germany and Samoa are the three teams at the next level. After the first tournament, barring future upsets, it looks like they will be the four teams going to LA.
Canada 24 – Germany 19
Germany opened the scoring after a minute finding a big gap in a lackadaisical Canadian defensive line, 7-0. Morgan di Nardo hit back in the third minute as he found a smaller gap but with a fend he made his way through and scored under the posts, 7-7. Canada failed to go 10 metres on the kick off, gifting Germany the ball at centre. When Canada won the ball back on a knock into touch, they failed to throw the ball in straight and gave the ball back to Germany. That was the theme of day 2 for Canada, giving away valuable possession too easy, perhaps mental and physical fatigue, but against better teams it will be the difference between winning and losing. Germany scored from the 5 metre scrum and it was now 14-7 for Germany. Canada kept possession from the kickoff and Jamie Armstrong was able to use his speed on the outside to score, 14-12 for Germany, and that’s how the half ended.
Canada with some patient rugby finally found a way through a resolute German defence, Isherwood being the protagonist and touching it down between the posts, 19-14 for Canada with 5 minutes remaining. The kickoff again didn’t go 10 metres, this isn’t a high level skill, and Canada are killing themselves with these unforced errors. The Germans almost scored right away with a chip through but Noah Bain was the hero, holding the ball carrier up in the goal area. Germany did score however from the resulting 5 metre scrum and it was 19-19 with 3 minutes left. The announcer stated the obvious, “Canada have given up 14 points off botched kick offs”. Canada again miscue with another not straight in the lineout, and it’s difficult to understand why they are choosing that option if they can’t execute. Germany almost win it at the whistle but the last pass didn’t go to hand and the game goes to overtime. Some tense moments as Germany have the territorial advantage, but Canada gain possession and Ethan Turner hoofs it down field with Kyle Tremblay giving chase, the German defender slides to gain possession but inadvertently knocks it back into goal and Tremblay scrambles to provide downward pressure on the ball and Canada are into the final.
Try Scorers
Thomas Isherwood
Jamie Armstrong
Morgan di Nardo
Kyle Tremblay
Canada 7 – Chile 33
Canada scored first and it was still a game at half time, only down 14-7. But Canada didn’t have anything left in the tank in the second half and it was all Chile. Canada’s mistakes kept compounding as they gave up possession, kick off not going 10 metres, line out not straight, getting driven off the ball at the ruck, missed tackles, penalties. It wasn’t pretty.
Overall though, a good tournament, if Canada can continue improving and cut down on the errors, they should have another shot at Chile in the second tournament next weekend.
Try Scorers
Kyle Tremblay
from World Rugby
- Chile and Kenya were crowned men’s and women’s champions, respectively, at the opening round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 in Cape Town.
- Chile overcame Canada 33-7 in the men’s final, while Kenya beat Argentina 17-12 in an intense women’s final.
- Germany’s men’s team and South Africa’s women’s team earned third place on the podium.
- Cape Town will host the second round of the HSBC Sevens Challenger on 7-8 March with the same participating teams.
- The top eight men’s and women’s teams will progress to the third round in Krakow on 11-12 April.
- The Challenger provides a promotion pathway to HSBC SVNS, with the top four placed men’s and women’s teams securing their place in the high stakes HSBC SVNS Play-Off in Los Angeles on 3-4 May and an opportunity to gain promotion.
At the end of two days of intense, high-quality competition, Chile men and Kenya women took top honours at the opening round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 in Cape Town.
Like Kenya’s men’s side, who achieved promotion to HSBC SVNS 2025 via the Challenger, Kenya’s women got off to the perfect start with victory in round 1.
Kenya’s women beat South Africa 15-19 in the semi-final, while Chile’s men reached the final thanks to a 31-14 win over Samoa. Chile was a dominant force in the men’s competition and claimed gold with a 33-7 win over Canada in the final.
Germany’s men’s side recovered from a semi-final defeat to claim the bronze medal with a 19-14 defeat of Samoa. South Africa’s women convincingly beat Colombia with 0-29 for third place.
Argentina and Canada were impressive throughout the weekend and claimed the silver.
VIEW POOLS, SCORES AND FIXTURES
Chile men’s captain Lucca Avelli was delighted with the win: “We’ve put a lot of work in over the last year, and I’m very proud of the group. This win is really great. Our goal is to get HSBC SVNS, and we won’t stop until we get there.
Amid ecstatic celebrations in front of a contingent of supporters, Kenya captain Grace Okulu said: “This victory is nice because we’ve never won a Challenger series. It is a milestone for us. I’m happy for the team, and I’m delighted for everyone who supports us. We must carry on with the momentum and prepare hard for the next series this coming weekend. It has been an amazing journey for us and we are happy that things are working out for us.”
The Challenger series starts with back-to-back events in Cape Town, with the top-ranked eight men’s and women’s teams progressing to the third and final tournament at the Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow on 11-12 April.
The four men’s and women’s teams with the most cumulative points gained across the three Challenger rounds will then qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play Off in Los Angeles on 3 – 4 May, where they will face the bottom four ranked teams from HSBC SVNS 2025 in a high-stakes promotion and relegation tournament with four coveted places in future SVNS at stake.
The Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens for the short format of the game, which has experienced massive growth over the past two decades since the introduction of the global sevens series and becoming an Olympic sport at the Rio 2016 Games.
Fans around the globe can watch the action on rugbypass.tv or via domestic broadcast partners.
Canada 2-0 on Day 1 – Face Germany in Semi-Finals on Day 2
The first goal has been reached for the Canada 7s team in South Africa, win their pool and guarantee a top 4 finish. The next goal is for a top 2 finish by defeating Germany in the semis.
Canada 38 – Madagascar 0
Canada started the scoring a minute in when Ethan Hager had a line break and dished it off to Kal Sager who finished off the try. Madagascar picked up a yellow card a minute from half and Canada took advantage with a try by Kyle Tremblay. A Thomas Isherwood line break had set up the sequence of play. That was the half, 10-0, with both tries unconverted.
Elias Hancock opened up the second half with a solo try, converted, 17-0. Alex Russell scored next with a patient try that saw many of the bench players involved. Michael Laplaine scored a nice solo try with a minute remaining, giving a strong fend and then outdistancing the defender. Laplaine set up the next score as well, offloading to Johnny Franklin for the final score.
Over all the bench looked good, all 5 subs came on, Sager and di Nardo put in a full shift.
Try Scorers
Michael Laplaine
Johnny Franklin
Alex Russell
Kal Sager
Kyle Tremblay
Elias Hancock
Canada 21 – Hong Kong 12
Canada survived 2 yellow cards to earn the win in their second match. It was Isherwood to Hancock to set up Canada’s first try to score 2 minutes into the match, converted, 7-0. Hancock scored the second try, a patient, well worked team try where Hancock picked the ball up from a ruck near the goal line and reached over, 14-0 at the half.
Alex Russell picked up a yellow card two minutes in when he tried playing a ball from an offside position when Hong Kong had the ball at a ruck near the Canada goal line. It was a strange play, there was a Canada player over the ball and they could have won the turnover call but the ball was propelled out of the ruck and landed at Russell’s feet as he was retreating and his instinct was to pick the ball up. Hong Kong immediately scored from the resulting scrum, 14-7. Isherwood was the hero on the next play, down a player, Hancock tipped back the kick off and Isherwood alertly picked it up and outran the Hong Kong defence, 21-7. Kal Sager, next fell foul of the referee, when a tackled player was falling forward with di Nardo wrapped around his ankles, he was engaged by Sager as the second tackler. It was deemed high and Sager picked up a yellow, now Canada were down two players for a brief time. In retrospect, Sager should have let the tackled player fall and then he would have been in perfect poaching position. Hong Kong scored with a minute left, unconverted, and Canada held on for an uncomfortably close win.
The two yellow cards had a big influence in this contest, Canada will have to be more careful with their discipline and hopefully they don’t run into this referee again on Day 2.
Try Scorers
Elias Hancock (2)
Thomas Isherwood
from World Rugby
World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 off to a flying start in Cape Town
The opening round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 kicked off at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
• Germany, Chile, Samoa and Canada lead the men’s competition with a pair of victories each.
• South Africa, Argentina, Belgium and Kenya women finish day one with perfect win records.
• The action continues from 10:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday.
• Opening round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 taking place at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, followed by the second round on 7-8 March.
• The top eight placed men’s and women’s teams will progress to the third round in Krakow on 11-12 April.
• The Challenger provides a promotion pathway to HSBC SVNS, with the top four placed men’s and women’s teams securing their place in the promotion and relegation play-off in Los Angeles.
• Fans around the globe can watch the action on rugbypass.tv
The opening round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 kicked off at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, with all teams playing their first two pool matches of the competition.
The men’s event saw some intensely competitive matches and close scorelines as Germany, Chile, Samoa and Canada, claimed two wins each to ensure their safe passage to the semi-finals.
In the women’s tournament, there were flying starts for South Africa, Argentina, Colombia and Kenya, who all finished top of their logs on day one with a pair of victories to secure spots for Sunday’s semi-finals.
VIEW POOLS, SCORES AND FIXTURES
The action continues from 10:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday, with place play-offs and both men’s and women’s finals.
The first two rounds of the Challenger replicate the competition format used at the recent HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament in December 2024. This sees the four pool winners progress directly to contest the semi-finals, while second-placed teams will play for fifth to eighth places and teams finishing third in their pools will compete for ninth to twelfth positions.
The Challenger series begins with back-to-back events in Cape Town, with the top-ranked eight men’s and women’s teams progressing to the third and final tournament at the Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow on 11-12 April.
The four men’s and women’s teams with the most cumulative points gained across the three Challenger rounds will then qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play Off in Los Angeles on 3 – 4 May, where they will face the bottom four ranked teams from HSBC SVNS 2025 in a high-stakes promotion and relegation tournament with four coveted places in future SVNS at stake.
The Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens for the short format of the game, which has experienced massive growth over the past two decades since the introduction of the global sevens series and becoming an Olympic sport at the Rio 2016 Games.
All teams qualified for the HSBC Sevens Challenger via their respective regional competitions.
Fans around the globe can watch the action on rugbypass.tv or via domestic broadcast partners.
World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 dates:
Cape Town, South Africa | 1-2 March
Cape Town, South Africa | 7-8 March
Krakow, Poland | 11-12 April
Los Angeles, USA | 3-4 May
Canada in Pool with Madagascar and Hong Kong in Cape Town Challenger 7s Tournament on Saturday: Travelling Roster Named
Coach Sean White announced his 13 player squad to travel to Cape Town for two tournaments. The first tournament is this weekend, starting Saturday. Three players didn’t make the cut from the 16 at the Vancouver tournament, Rhys James, James Thiel and Ben Greenstein. There are seven players returning from the RAN 7s tournament, Thomas Isherwood, Alex Russell, Noah Bain, Ethan Hager, Kyle Tremblay, Johnny Franklin, Elias Hancock. Three players have previous experience on the SVNS series Kal Sager, Morgan di Nardo, Ethan Turner, while three players will be getting their Canada SVNS series debut, Jamie Armstrong, Brenden Black and Michael Laplaine-Pereira.
Canada’s goal for Saturday is to defeat Madagascar and Hong Kong, which would put them through to the top 4 on Day 2, and earn them a favourable draw in the second tournament. Based on the initial pools and seedings, the teams projected to get through to the semi-finals are Canada, Germany, Chile and Samoa.
Pool A: Germany, Japan, Georgia
Pool B: Chile, Tonga, Portugal
Pool C: Samoa, Uganda, Brazil
Pool D Canada, Hong Kong, Madagascar
The pool winners go straight to the top 4 semi-finals, Pool A vs Pool D and Pool B vs Pool C. If everything goes according to plan it will be a Canada v Germany semi-final and a Chile v Samoa semi-final. Canada’s goal in the three tournaments is simple, stay top 4 throughout, top 2 preferable, and perhaps win a tournament or two.
(cover photo by pjCarr)
CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS TEAM
3. Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, BC) – Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
5. Alex Russell (Bracebridge, ON) – McGill University
10. Noah Bain (Abbotsford, BC) – UBCOB Ravens / New England Free Jacks
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
27. Johnny Franklin (Bowen Island, BC) – Capilano RFC
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) – Bytown Blues / University of Ottawa
82. Michael Laplaine-Pereira (Montreal, QC) – TMR Rugby / Concordia University
World Rugby Cape Town Challenger Schedule/Results page.
from Rugby Canada
The 13 players that will represent Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team over the first two legs of the 2025 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger have been named by Head Coach Sean White following the men’s invitational at HSBC SVNS Vancouver.
Cape Town, South Africa will host the opening rounds over March 1 to 2 and March 7 to 8. Teams will compete at Athlone Stadium, with the top eight ranked men’s teams following these two weekends progressing to the third round in Krakow, Poland in April. Following the third round, the top four ranked teams will qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play Off tournament in Los Angeles over May 3 to 4. More information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger format can be found here.
All 13 players on the roster competed at the men’s invitational held at BC Place this past weekend alongside the 10th edition of HSBC SVNS Vancouver. Twelve of these players made it onto the scoresheet in Vancouver, with Ethan Hager and Jamie Armstrong (the 2024 Back of the Year at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship) leading the way on the team with four tries each through four games.
Players such as Alex Russell, Thomas Isherwood, Kal Sager and Elias Hancock will bring valuable experience to the squad, with up-and-coming players who impressed in Vancouver looking to make their mark and play a part in Canada’s journey back to the HSBC SVNS series.
Two players, Morgan Di Nardo and Ethan Turner, made their debut for Canada last year at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, while Kyle Tremblay (of the Pacific Pride Development Academy) and Johnny Franklin debuted in November at the Rugby Americas North Sevens.
Brenden Black, who also had a confident showing in Vancouver as one of the team’s strongest conversion kickers, was the youngest player to ever be capped in the MLR when he played his first professional game in 2023.
“Having the opportunity to build cohesion as a team as well as fine tune our processes on and off field will allow us to hit the ground running in Cape Town,” said Sean White. “I was certainly pleased with our performances in Vancouver, and it made for very difficult selections which is what you always want as a coach. Our One Squad process has resulted in the potential for five new players to make their SVNS/Challenger debut. After a long travel day today, we will continue our recovery in Cape Town and make the adjustments needed to have a successful start to our Challenger Series.”
More information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger, including full schedules and updated scores, can be found here.
SCHEDULE
Saturday March 1
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Madagascar
3:21am PT / 6:21am ET
Watch on TSN+
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Hong Kong China
6:37am PT / 9:37am ET
Watch on TSN+
Sunday March 2
Semi-finals and finals
Times and opponents TBD
Watch on TSN+
*The schedule for the second round over March 7 to 8 will be announced by World Rugby following the conclusion of the first round.