Canada falls to Fiji in Hong Kong 7s quarters
Nathan Hirayama makes Canadian history by reaching 1,000-point plateau
Canada dropped its quarter-final match to eventual champion Fiji at the Hong Kong Sevens, finishing in a tie for seventh at the tournament.
There were positives for coach Damian McGrath's team, which climbed another rung to ninth place in the World Series overall standings. Hong Kong marked the third event in a row that the Canadians made the elite Cup quarter-finals.
It was a historic weekend for Nathan Hirayama, who became the first Canadian to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The 29-year-old from Richmond, B.C., now has 1,006 points over 50 World Series appearences to stand 18th on the world all-time list.
Canada led Fiji 12-5 in the quarter-final but then gave up 24 straight points; the Fijians, who won gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics, earned their 44th win in 46 meetings against the Canadians en route to shutting out South Africa in the final.
Canada, which went 2-1-0 in pool play, then exited in a 20-19 loss to Argentina on a last-second try by Franco Sabato.