Photo: Canadian Press
SINGAPORE – Canada's women equaled their Singapore Sevens record with a 28-7 win over Spain after opening with a 5-0 loss to Ireland.
The Canadian women, who enter the Rugby Sevens Championship in fifth place in the season standings after six events, close out Pool A play on Saturday against undefeated New Zealand.
Karissa Norsten scored two tries and Alisha Corrigan and Chrissie Scurfield added singles in the win over Spain. Chloe Daniels kicked three conversions and Breanne Nicholas booted one.
New Zealand and Australia, who came to Singapore at the top of the women's standings with 106 points, won their opening two matches to secure their places in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
New Zealand beat Spain 38-7 and Ireland 31-10, with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scoring her 250th try.
The Canadian men, who are ranked last of the 12 teams, saw their losing streak on the sevens circuit extend to 22 games after losing 22-17 to New Zealand and 21-14 to Australia.
On the plus side, the Canadiens pushed No. 5 New Zealand and No. 6 Australia to the limit, with the All Blacks equalizing in the 14th minute before scoring the winner in overtime.
Former Australia Top 15 captain Michael Hooper scored his first international try in the win over Canada. Matt Oworo, back from injury, scored two tries for Canada with Thomas Isherwood adding two conversions.
David Richard scored two tries and Phil Perna added one goal in Canada's loss to New Zealand, which had to recover from a 10-7 halftime deficit. Brock Webster started a conversion process.
The rebuilding Canadian men collected at least one point in five of the first six events. They were winless, beating France 33-7 on December 10 to finish seventh in Cape Town.
The Canadian men conclude pool play against series leaders Argentina.
Australia, France, South Africa and the United States have already qualified for the men's quarterfinals with perfect records.
The sevens circuit, renamed this season as the HSBC SVNS HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, features seven regular season events, each featuring men's and women's competition, plus a grand final with promotion and relegation odds.
The men's and women's teams with the most cumulative points after seven rounds are crowned winners of the SVNS League 2024, while the top eight teams earn their place in the new 'winner takes all' grand final from May 31 to June 2 in Madrid. . Where the men's and women's champion will be crowned.
The eighth and final place in the Madrid women's final will be decided when No. 8 Britain and No. 9 Brazil meet on Saturday. Britain, which currently leads by two points in the standings, and Brazil lost their opening matches in Singapore.
The Canadian side, which won a relegation play-off last year to maintain their starting position, will find themselves fighting for their survival in Madrid. In return, Canadian women will get the chance to go after the big prize.
The relegation bracket in Madrid, which includes the bottom four teams in the SVNS standings and the top four from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series, will determine the four remaining primary teams in the HSBC SVNS.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.
