Canadian women 6th at Hong Kong 7s after narrow loss to Fiji
Rebuilding men’s squad 12th and headed for 2nd straight relegation battle
New Zealand's women and men repeated as champions Sunday at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, one of the most celebrated stops on the rugby sevens circuit.
The Black Ferns thumped the United States 36-7 in the women's final to claim their third straight tournament title and fifth podium finish in six events this season, moving past Australia atop the HSBC SVNS standings on points difference with one regular-season event remaining.
Australia downed Ireland 14-5 in the men's bronze-medal game while the Australia women edged France 24-21 to finish third.
The Canadian women finished sixth after losing the fifth-place playoff 19-15 to Fiji. Canada's men were 12th, beaten 26-17 by Britain in the 11th-place playoff.
Canada's women, whose best result of the season so far was a third in Vancouver, are fifth in the standings. The men are 12th and last.
The rebuilding Canadian men, who had to deal with injuries in Hong Kong, have collected a minimum one-point in five of the first six events. They have now lost 20 straight games since defeating France 33-7 on Dec. 10 to finish seventh in Cape Town.
The results in Hong Kong mean that seven of the eight teams have been confirmed for the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid from May 31 to June 2.
Ireland, Fiji, France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa join Argentina in the men's tournament. The U.S. currently eighth, will look to join them with a good performance in Singapore.
On the women's side, Canada, the U.S. Ireland and Fiji join Australia, New Zealand and France in confirming their places at the Grand Final in Madrid. The final spot will be decided in Singapore with eighth-place Britain currently holding a two-point lead over Brazil.
One-sided quarterfinal
After winning their pool with three straight wins, the Canadian women ran into a New Zealand buzz in a 26-5 loss in the Cup quarterfinal. Canada then fell short in its comeback bid against Fiji after trailing 19-5 in the second half of the fifth-place playoff. Piper Logan and Fancy Bermudez scored late tries but it was too little too late.
Krissy Scurfield scored a try in the first half for Canada.
Ethan Hager, Ethan Turner and D'Shawn Bowen scored tries in a losing cause for Canada against Britain in the men's 11th-place game.
Canada, featuring four Series debutantes on its roster, finished last in Pool A after comprehensive losses to Fiji, France and Australia. Canada then lost 21-0 to Series leader Argentina in the ninth-place semifinal.
The Canadian women, bronze medallists at the 2016 Games in Rio, have already qualified for the Paris Olympics. Canada's men will have to get past the likes of South Africa, Britain and Spain at a tough last-ditch qualifying tournament in Monaco in late June to join them.
Canada's men are headed for a second straight relegation battle to retain their core status on the circuit.
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 slimmed-down sevens circuit features seven regular-season events, each featuring men's and women's competition, plus a grand final with promotion and relegation at stake.
The men's and women's team with the most cumulative points after seven rounds claim the title of SVNS 2024 League Winners, while the top eight-placed teams earn their place in the new "winner takes all" Grand Final, where the men's and women's champion will be crowned.
