Fancy Bermudez scored a pair of tries as the Canadian women defeated Ireland 24-12 Sunday to put themselves in position for their best result this season at the HSBC Canada Sevens tournament.

The women can place fifth in the tournament with a win over Fiji. Their previous best was eighth in Cape Town, South Africa.

B次元官网网址淚t will give us some good momentum going into the last few stops,B次元官网网址� said Bermudez, a back from Edmonton. B次元官网网址淚t will do a lot.B次元官网网址�

The men, who staged an upset over Australia Friday but missed advancing to the quarterfinals due to a points differential, lost 31-14 to South Africa in their only game Sunday and finished in a tie for 15th place.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a bummer to not come away with points,B次元官网网址� said captain Phil Berna.

The poor finish was a blow to a menB次元官网网址檚 team that came into the tournament sitting 14th in the World Rugby Sevens Series standings and fighting to avoid relegation

The women fell behind 7-0 against Ireland but responded with 24 straight points. The game turned when prop Olivia De Couvreur of Ottawa delivered a crunching hit early in the first half.

B次元官网网址淭hat was a bit monument piece,B次元官网网址� said Bermudez. B次元官网网址淚t really got our energy back up after having a couple unforced errors. We just took that and ran with it.B次元官网网址�

Co-captain Olivia Apps of Lindsay, Ont., scored a try and kicked two converts. Keyara Wardley of Vulcan, Alta., also scored a try.

The Canadian women entered the tournament with 16 points and ranked 10th after four stops on their tour.

Fans at BC Place Stadium were decked out in elaborate and colourful costumes. There were furry onesies and bright wigs. Some pink pigs with floppy ears sat near a flock of bees. A group of abominable snowmen waved a Canadian flag.

There were sailors, pirates, construction workers, and a group in orange prison suits watched over by police in sunglasses.

People danced to the music and waved flags from the different nations playing.

Lachlan Kratz of Victoria scored a try and kicked two converts in the menB次元官网网址檚 loss to South Africa. Jake Thiel of Abbotsford, B.C., added a try.

Both teams had a roller-coaster ride during the tournament but the men probably deserved a better fate. The women took advantage of a smaller field and a points differential system that worked in their favour.

This year the tournament was expanded to include a full slate of 12 womenB次元官网网址檚 teams competing at the same time as the 16 menB次元官网网址檚 teams.

The Canadian women lost their opening games 28-7 Ireland and 17-12 to the U.S, then rebounded to beat Brazil 31-7.

They finished with a 1-2 record in Pool C but moved on because of their point differential. The top two teams from the three womenB次元官网网址檚 pools advanced to the quarterfinals, along with the two best third-place teams.

The women then showed a determined effort in a 10-5 loss to New Zealand, one of the best teams in the world.

The men looked terrible in a 35-5 loss to Ireland in their opening game then played one of their best games of the tournament to beat Australia 29-12. They beat Chile 35-7 Saturday morning.

Despite a 2-1 record, they failed to advance to the medal round. The top two teams of the four menB次元官网网址檚 pools moved on. The menB次元官网网址檚 point differential left them in third.

They lost 19-14 to Spain in the ninth-place quarterfinal.

MenB次元官网网址檚 interim coach Sean White saw positives in his teamB次元官网网址檚 performance.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think weB次元官网网址檙e happy but we can certainly be proud,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淥ur highs are really high right now and our lows are quite low. WeB次元官网网址檝e just got to find that even keel. I think weB次元官网网址檝e shown what weB次元官网网址檙e capable of, itB次元官网网址檚 just about that repeat performance.B次元官网网址�

Berna said the team is like a jigsaw puzzle that hasnB次元官网网址檛 been put together yet.

B次元官网网址淲e believe we have all the parts,B次元官网网址� said the Vancouver native. B次元官网网址淲e just have to put it together on a consistent basis.B次元官网网址�

The sevens series is reducing the number of menB次元官网网址檚 core teams for the 2024 season from 16 to 12, to equal the number of womenB次元官网网址檚 teams and align with the Olympic competition structure.

The men needed to reach the quarterfinals of the final four tournaments B次元官网网址� while managing wins when playing teams ahead of them B次元官网网址� to gain enough points to climb into 11th place or better and avoid playing in a relegation playoff.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 hide from the fact thereB次元官网网址檚 relegation,B次元官网网址� said White. B次元官网网址淏ut by no means do we go in looking at how many points we need.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to put the best performance in for each game and see where we get to.B次元官网网址�

The top four menB次元官网网址檚 and womenB次元官网网址檚 teams at the end of the season will qualify automatically for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Jim Morris, The Canadian Press

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