A 17-7 loss to Ireland Sunday was a frustrating end for Canada at the HSBC Canada Sevens tournament but a team that had struggled recently found some confidence and managed to move up the overall series standings.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of good stuff here,B次元官网网址� said head coach Henry Paul. B次元官网网址淲e gave the crowd something to get behind, a lot of good tries, lots of good defence. WeB次元官网网址檙e really working hard as a team.
B次元官网网址淭his is a springboard.B次元官网网址�
The men won two of the three games they played Sunday and three overall counting SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 victory over Spain. Canada came into Vancouver with just one win in 11 games in the last two tournaments they played.
The seven points Canada picked for finishing 10th also moved the team past both Scotland and Wales in the overall points standings for the World Rugby Seven Series. Canada is tied for 11th with New Zealand with 31 points.
Canada needs to collect as many points as possible in the final three tournaments of the year to finish among the top 14 countries and avoid being relocated off the tour. The teamB次元官网网址檚 best finish this year was a seventh in Malaga, Spain.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a dogfight down there right now,B次元官网网址� said forward Jake Thiel, one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 best players over the weekend. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want to be stuck in that bottom four.
B次元官网网址淲e know what the standings are, weB次元官网网址檙e not going to leave it to fate. WeB次元官网网址檙e going to take it in our own hands. All these games matter to us.B次元官网网址�
Argentina defeated Fiji 20-10 in the gold medal game to win its first tournament of the season.
Australia beat Samoa 21-19 in for the bronze medal.
South Africa leads the series standings with 111 points, followed by Argentina with 105 and Australia at 100.
Canada made a pair of costly mistakes against Ireland and trailed 12-0 early. Anton Ngongo scored CanadaB次元官网网址檚 lone try.
Speedster Brock Webster said the team continues to learn from its mistakes.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 tons of confidence,B次元官网网址� said Webster. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e a young group so that confidence is only going to grow with our play.
B次元官网网址淵esterday, when we lost those first two games, it was frustrating, but we were able to build and come back. ThatB次元官网网址檚 huge. ItB次元官网网址檚 when you take losses and donB次元官网网址檛 learn from it that itB次元官网网址檚 not OK. As long as we carry that over the rest of the season, I think weB次元官网网址檒l find some great success.B次元官网网址�
A total of 33,444 fans crowded into BC Place Stadium over the two days of the tournament.
An Easter Bunny with floppy ears was among the colourful and imaginative costumes in the crowd Sunday. There also was a pony with a blue mane, workers in hard hats and vests, three characters from the HandmaidB次元官网网址檚 Tale and several people wearing loud sport jackets decorated with Maple Leafs. A bunch of bananas sat near a pair of chickens. A herd of cattle rubbed shoulders with a flock of penguins.
Canada won one of three games Saturday, losing 26-10 to Australia and 19-14 to South Africa before beating Spain 26-10.
In SundayB次元官网网址檚 first game a crunching goal line tackle by Alex Russell early in the first half swung the momentum as Canada scored 29 straight points for a 29-5 win over Japan. Later, Canada overcame an early deficit to defeat Scotland 26-22.
RussellB次元官网网址檚 bruising hit knocked a Japanese ball carrier out of bounds inches before he scored the gameB次元官网网址檚 first points.
B次元官网网址淚t was a hell of a tackle,B次元官网网址� said playmaker Cooper Coats, who kicked two converts in the victory. B次元官网网址淲e needed that early. We pride ourselves on our defence. We want to be that stubborn team on defence, not letting anyone through. That was just one of the examples of one of the guys putting their body on the line.B次元官网网址�
Besides his defence, Russell scored two tries in the win. Captain Phil Berna, Thiel and Anton Ngongo also scored for Canada.
In the emotional win over Scotland, Webster scored a pair of tries and Coats kicked three converts before a loud, flag-waving crowd of 15,797. Thiel and Russell also scored tries.
B次元官网网址淚t was a special one,B次元官网网址� said Thiel, who celebrated his try by urging the crowd to make more noise. B次元官网网址淚 think a little bit of emotion just shows how much we want this and how much we want to prove people wrong.
B次元官网网址淭his week the results have not gone our way in a couple of these games but weB次元官网网址檙e hanging in with the best teams, weB次元官网网址檙e taking these games to the wire.B次元官网网址�
The Canadian side competing at the tournament is a young, rebuilding squad after 10 veterans retired from the sevens team that finished eighth at the Tokyo Olympics.
B次元官网网址淎s a group, I think weB次元官网网址檙e slowly gelling together,B次元官网网址� said Russell. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e starting to look a bit better. We know everyone on the field can do some damage on both sides of the ball.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擩im Morris, The Canadian Press
