CANADA LOOKS TO CLAIM 5TH PLACE IN LAS VEGAS TOMORROW AFTER SPLIT DAY TWO
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Having advanced to their second cup quarterfinal of the season, Canada fell to Fiji Saturday night after at the USA Sevens in Las Vegas. Canada had made it to the cup quarters after a 21-0 win over France earlier in the day. With the win over France, Canada finished second in Pool A.
On Day 1, Canada had lost to South Africa but beaten Wales meaning they had to beat France to advance out of the pool stages. Canada will play its fifth place playoff Sunday at 4:22pm ET/1:22pm PT against England.
What head coach Damian McGrath said:
“We had an aim of a quarterfinal and I feel that we are a top eight team and we showed it against South Africa and Wales and really showed it against France when we controlled the game from start to finish. We were confident coming into the Fiji game but a few things didn’t go our way but I was happy with what we did. The players want to finish as high in the table as they can and we’re aiming for fifth place to set us up for a great position for next weekend’s tournament in Vancouver.”
CANADA 21-0 FRANCE
It was a dominant performance by Damian McGrath’s men as Canada took full control of France to advance to the cup quarters.
After a John Moonlight try had been overturned for not grounding the ball, Canada, who dominated possession in the first half, finally found their breakthrough with a minute left in the half as Mike Fuailefau scored his second try of the tournament for a 7-0 lead. With Canada still ahead, captain Harry Jones preserved the lead as he managed to hold up Jeremy Aicardi after the Frenchman had chipped over the Canadian defence.
Isaac Kay sealed victory with a minute left as he powered his way over for his second career HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series try before Justin Douglas completed the scoring with a long run after France had lost the ball in the tackle.
CANADA 12-31 FIJI
Canada’s quest for a cup title was denied by a clinical Fijian side Saturday night. Apisao Domolailai gave Fiji an early 7-0 lead before Canada’s speedster Justin Douglas got Canada on the board but tries from Domolailai and Vatemo Ravouvou pushed the Fijian lead to 21-5 at the break.
Waisea Nacuqu extended the Fiji lead to open the second half before John Moonlight touched down for Canada’s second try but a late Samisoni Virivri try completed a 31-12 win.
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Squad for USA Sevens (Name, club, hometown):
Phil Berna – (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
Luke Bradley, UVic Vikes/Port Alberni Black Sheep (Port Alberni, BC)
Justin Douglas – (Abbotsford RFC/BC Bears) Abbotsford, BC
Mike Fuailefau – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Lucas Hammond – (UVIC Vikes) Toronto, ON
Nathan Hirayama – (UVic Vikes/BC Bears) Richmond, BC
Harry Jones – Captain (Capilano RFC) Vancouver, BC
Caleb Jordan – (Montreal Wanderers) Montreal, QC
Isaac Kaay – (UVic Vikes) Kamloops, BC
Pat Kay – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Duncan, BC
Luke McCloskey – (Castaway Wanderers) Victoria, BC
John Moonlight – (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON
Adam Zaruba – (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Unavailable for Selection:
Matt Mullins – (Queen’s University/Ontario Blues) Belleville, ON
Liam Underwood – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
Day 1 Schedule:
Canada 7-26 South Africa
Canada 24-21 Wales
Day 2 Schedule:
Canada 21-0 France
Canada 12-31 Fiji
About Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Union has a long history in Canada dating back to its initial appearance in the 1860s. Since 1974, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture on the global rugby scene, including trips to each of the eight Men’s Rugby World Cups and seven Women’s Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the Men’s and Women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game. Canada’s Women’s Rugby Sevens Team also made history in 2016, capturing the first-ever Bronze Medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Rugby Canada has also put a renewed emphasis on developing its junior programs to support the growth of rugby at the grass-roots level and to ensure there are elite programs for prospering young rugby players to become involved. Our goal is to develop and train competitive teams for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan and 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Bryan Kelly I Manager, Communications and Media Relations I Rugby Canada I 3024 Glen Lake Road I Langford, British Columbia, Canada V9B 4B4 I Tel. 250.418.8998 ext. 314 I Fax 250.386.3810 I Cell. 250.216.5272 | bkelly@rugbycanada.ca I www.rugbycanada.ca