Canadian rugby 7s men face relegation battle at season finale in Madrid
The Canadian Press | Posted: May 5, 2024 4:09 PM | Last Updated: May 5
Winless-in-26 squad avoided relegation last May, beating Kenya in playoff final
For the second year in a row, Canada's men will have to fight to retain their status as a core team on the world rugby sevens circuit.
The Canadian men wrapped up another disappointing outing Sunday, beaten 17-12 by Samoa in the 11th-place playoff at the HSBC Singapore SVNS. It marked the sixth time in seven events this season, and fifth straight tournament, the rebuilding Canada side finished last.
The Canadian men now head to Madrid for the final event of the season May 31 to June 2, joining the ninth-placed U.S., No. 10 Spain and No. 11 Samoa in a relegation playoff with the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series.
Uruguay, Kenya, Chile, Germany and Hong Kong China are the top five Challenger sides heading into the final round in Munich on May 18-19.
The top four teams in the relegation playoff will earn core status on world sevens circuit.
The fifth-ranked Canadian women finished seventh in Singapore, closing out with a 17-5 win over Britain on Sunday. Charity Williams scored two of the tries with Alysha Corrigan added a single. Chloe Daniels added a conversion.
The slimmed-down sevens circuit, rebranded this season as HSBC SVNS from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, features seven regular-season events, each featuring men's and women's competition, plus the grand final in Madrid with promotion and relegation at stake.
The Canadian men saw their losing streak extend to 26 games dating back to a 33-7 win over France on Dec. 10 that saw them finish seventh in Cape Town, their best result of the season.
There were positive signs, however. The Canadian men pushed No. 3 New Zealand to the limit in Singapore before falling 21-17 in extra time in pool play.
Losses to Australia (21-14), Argentina (38-0), Fiji (31-7) and Samoa followed.
Dramatic win in 2023 playoff
The Canadian men won the Singapore event in 2017, their lone sevens tournament win on the world stage.
The Canadians, who edged Kenya in a dramatic 12-7 win last May in a relegation playoff final in London to preserve their core status, have one more tournament to save themselves.
The relegation bracket in Madrid, featuring the bottom four teams in the SVNS standings and the top four from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger series, will determine the remaining four HSBC SVNS core teams.
The top eight men's and women's teams will compete in Madrid's winner takes-all event with the Canadian women joining New Zealand, Australia, France, the U.S. Fiji, Ireland and Britain in competing for the season's final prize.
Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Spain fall into the women's relegation playoff.
Michaela Blyde scored three tries to help the New Zealand women defeat Australia 31-21 in the Singapore final and finish atop the season standings with 126 points, two ahead of Australia. It marked the fourth straight tournament win for the New Zealand women and their sixth podium in seven events.
While the All Blacks defeated Ireland 17-14 in the men's final to retain their Singapore crown, Argentina won the SVNS league title after rallying from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat South Africa 14-10 in the fifth-place playoff.
The Pumas started the season on fire, finishing runner-up in Dubai and winning in Perth, Cape Town and Vancouver before falling off the podium in the last three events.
"The journey was really difficult," said Argentina's Gaston Revol, who made his sevens debut for the Pumas in 2009. We kept on trying, kept on training, kept on believing in this team and I think we have the prize that we deserve.
"It's incredible to be here at this moment. Here and in every other tournament at my age, I'm 37 years old and I'm still here with these guys, these great players."
Britain's men's and women's teams secured the eighth and final grand final spots, guaranteeing their place as core teams next year.
The men's grand final in Madrid will feature Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, France, Fiji, South Africa and Britain.