USA Sevens Rugby: Canada falls to Samoa in Shield final

Canada came up short in its quest for silverware at the USA Sevens after falling in the Shield final to Samoa 24-12 on Sunday.

The Canadian side qualified for the Shield final after beating England 24-7 earlier in the day in the semifinal and earned two series points despite the outcome against the Samoans.

Victoria's Mike Fuailefau gathered the loose ball from the kickoff and strolled over for the opening try for Canada against Samoa. Nathan Hirayama of Richmond, B.C., couldn't convert the extras and Samoa responded when Samoa Toloa raced over from halfway to put his side in front 7-5.

Telea Seumanutafa added his name to the try list soon after. A late effort from Vancouver's Conor Trainor levelled the score at the interval.

Toloa scored his second try of the contest to make it 19-12 Samoa with nine minutes gone. Alefosio Tapili sealed the prize with a try of his own.

John Moonlight, of Pickering, Ont., scored two tries against England while Hirayama and Pat Kay, of Duncan, B.C., added a try each.

Hirayama strolled over after three minutes before Moonlight made it a 12-0 buffer at the interval.

England closed the gap to five points when Ruaridh McConnochie crossed near to the posts, but Kay's effort and Moonlight's second try sealed Canada's first victory at the USA Sevens tournament.

Canada went 1-4-1 at the USA Sevens, with losses against South Africa, Wales and Russia, and a tie against the host United States.

The Canadians will host the fifth stop on the 10-stop tour of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series on March 12 and 13th in Vancouver at BC Place Stadium.