Canada will face France in fifth place in the Rugby World Championships in wheelchairs after their victory over New Zealand.

Canada will play for fifth place in the Rugby World Championships in a wheelchair after a dominant second-half performance in Saturday’s win over New Zealand.

The men’s team led 26-25 in the first half but withdrew in the last 16 minutes, scoring 17 points in both the third and fourth quarters with a 60-49 victory in Vejle, Denmark.

“Our line was to stop the players with the ball and force them to pass,” said Fabien Lavoie of Quebec City, who scored four out of five points in the third quarter and earned honors in today’s performance. “We quickly moved into defense to recover those passes.”

Canada, ranked sixth in the world, will face fifth-placed France on Sunday at 5:30 a.m. ET. Coverage will be available via the Expanded Highlights Program at 9 a.m. on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app, and CBC Gem.

On August 28, 2021, Canada defeated France 57-49 in its last match at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo to finish fifth. At the 2018 World Championships, France won 52-51 in the fifth-place competition between the two teams after a 51-42 victory over the Canadians at the opening of the tournament in Sydney, Australia.

In Denmark, France beat defending Paralympic champion Great Britain 51-48 on Saturday, a day after the host Danes beat them in the quarter-finals on Friday.

‘Big challenge’

The Canadians, who have not won a world title since 2002, were relegated to the top-seeded group after their 53-51 defeat to the United States on Friday. They entered the tournament with confidence after defeating the British in the final of the Quartet of Nations Championships last month in Wales, UK.

Against New Zealand, Zach Madel of Okotoks, Alta led the Canadian attack with 29 points, while Anthony Letourneau of Pobriand, Que added seven points, Mike Whitehead of Windsor, Ontario and Travis Morau of Toronto each got five.

“The New Zealanders have given us a huge challenge,” said Lavoie, a five-time Paralympic champion. “When my streak hit the ground, I felt we had to make some shifts. We were afraid that he was too close and that we might eventually lose him.”

In the medal round, Denmark will meet Australia in the semi-finals later on Saturday, while defending champion and world number one Japan will face the United States.

Canadian List

• zach madel – Okotoks, AB.
• Fabien Lavoie Quebec City
• Mike Whitehead— Windsor, you.
• Matt Dipley – Windsor, you.
• Shane Smith – Toronto
• Cody Caldwell – Peterborough, Ont.;
• Anthony Letourneau – Boisbriand, Q.;
• Travis Morao- Toronto
• Patrick Dagini- Embron, Ontario
• Trevor Hirschfeld- Parksville, British Columbia
• Eric Rodriguez- Mississauga, Ont.;
• Byron Green — Vancouver