Canada's women's rugby sevens team heads to the semi-finals thanks to victories over New Zealand and Great Britain

The Canadian women's sevens team will advance to the semi-finals of the 2024 HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid after winning pool matches against New Zealand and Great Britain.

In the Canadiens vs. HSBC SVNS 2024 winners, Charity Williams opened the scoring in the first minute of play and Olivia Apps added a try between the posts for Canada, and Piper Logan scored a roll-in goal as New Zealand was reduced to six. Players who received yellow cards. Chloe Daniels converted all three Canadian attempts in the first half, as Canada took a 21-0 lead into halftime. Kiara Wardley added another try for Canada early in the second half. New Zealand responded with three tries, but Canada won 26-17, the first time a Canadian women's sevens team had beaten New Zealand since 2016.

Wardley scored for the third straight game in Madrid to start Canada's final group match against Great Britain. In the fifth minute of play, Williams received a yellow card, but the Canadians kept the Brits at bay, with Daniels even taking advantage of a loose ball from the Brits to increase Canada's lead. Great Britain scored before halftime, as Canada led 12-7 at halftime. In the second half, the two teams exchanged blow after blow. Great Britain equalized in the eighth minute, but Williams' long-distance recovery gave Canada the lead again. Heather Cowell restored parity for the two teams in the twelfth minute, so the match went to the golden attempt in extra time. Wardley was the hero in a Maple Leaf jersey, as she tried to secure a 22-17 win for the Canadiens.

The Canadian men's rugby sevens team's final group match was against the United States. The Americans led 7-0 in the fifth minute, and maintained their lead until halftime. A post-contact pass from Jack Carson to Josiah Mora allowed Canada to score its first points in the 10th minute with a successful conversion from Cooper Coates to tie the game at 7 all. The USA won 14-7 thanks to a 12th-minute try from Malachi Isdal.

Canada's women's sevens team will face France in the semifinals on Sunday, June 2 at 2:57 a.m. PT/5:57 a.m. EST. The Canadian men's sevens team will face Spain in a Challenger Series knockout match at 9:08 a.m. PT/11:08 a.m. EST, with the winner advancing to the 2025 HSBC SVNS Series.

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