Close games against Great Britain and New Zealand on day two in Perth – Rugby Canada

Canada's final matches have now been set at the HSBC SVNS Rugby Sevens Championship in Perth, with Saturday in Australia marking the end of the pool matches and the start of the final stages. The Canadian women's rugby sevens team will play for seventh place on Sunday after narrowly losing in the quarterfinals to Great Britain. The men's team will play for eleventh place after narrowly losing to New Zealand in the semi-finals for ninth place.

The Canadian women's rugby sevens team has completed its group action against the host nation, with both teams already earning a spot in the quarterfinals. Australia attacked immediately, scoring twice to take a 12-0 lead, and Asia Hogan Rochester sparked Canada's rampage by running almost the length of the field to score a try, which was converted. Australia led 19-7 before half-time, adding a fourth try in the first minute of the second half. Chloe Daniels was the second Canadian to convert her own try, following a pass from Charity Williams in the 11th minute. Australia's final try in the final minute of play gave the home team a 31-14 win.

After facing each other in the first group match in which the British won 14 to 12, Canada and Great Britain found themselves in the quarter-finals. The match was decided once again with an attempt in which Briton Eli Botman took advantage of the Canadian yellow card to score in the fifth minute of play. Both teams made great defensive efforts, and despite the intense pressure exerted by Canada, Great Britain held out. They won 7-0, putting the Canadians into the seventh place game.

The Canadian men's rugby sevens team took on Spain in their final group match. Spain led 12-0 in the first four minutes of play, but a yellow card against Eduardo Lopez gave Canada the numerical advantage. With only six Spanish players on the pitch, Jack Carson managed to get around the Spanish defense to score, and Cooper Coates converted the try to make it 12-7. Moments later, Carson appeared to have equalised, but his effort was disallowed as it was not flattened. Spain finished the first half and started the second half with tries. Thomas Isherwood scored one last try for the Canadians, off a pass after contact from Phil Perna in the 11th minute. The last Spanish try made it 33-12, and Canada found itself in the semi-finals in ninth place against New Zealand.

New Zealand led 19-0 at half-time, but the momentum began to shift thanks to a tackle by Phil Perna that blocked a New Zealand try just before half-time. Canada then came back strongly in the second half, starting with a Jake Thiel attempt, which was converted by Coates, in the ninth minute. On Canada's second attempt, Thomas Isherwood made a pass after contact with Coates, who entered the end zone and passed the ball to Cale Sager, who slotted the ball between the posts. Another conversion from Coates put Canada past New Zealand, which was only leading 19-14. Matt Berselier helped Canada get back into par, receiving a pass from David Richard and using his playmaking legs to get past the New Zealand defence. Coates gave Canada the lead for the first time with his third conversion of the game. But a huge counter-attack from New Zealand gave them a chance in the final minute of play, with Fehi Venyanjanvu scoring to secure a 26-21 victory for New Zealand.

Canada's women's sevens team will now meet Fiji in the seventh-place match at 10:15pm PT (Saturday, January 27) / 1:15am EST (Sunday, January 28). The Canadian men's sevens team will take on Great Britain in the 11th place match at 7:08pm PT/10:08pm EST (Saturday, January 27). You can follow all the matches live on TSN+.

more information

For the latest information regarding the HSBC SVNS Series and live streaming, including details on the tournament format, schedule and latest news, visit the official website: www.svns.com.

The HSBC SVNS Series will return in February in Vancouver. You can see both Canadian teams in action during the Vancouver HSBC Sevens Championship (February 23-25, 2024) at BC Place. Buy your ticket now on vansevens.com.