CANADA THROUGH TO SAO PAULO SEVENS CUP QUARTER-FINALS AFTER DAY ONE

 
In their final match of the day, Canada fell 29-14 to series leaders Australia. Canada will face France in the Cup Quarterfinals.
 
CANADA 26-7 IRELAND
 
Coming off a sixth place finish at the Dubai Sevens in December, Canada needed to get off to a good start in Sao Paulo, and they did just that in a 26-7 win over Ireland. The opening sequence was straight from the practice field as Canada controlled possession of the ball, swinging it from right-to-left then left-to-right before Karen Paquin found some space on the outside to score Canada’s first try of the tournament.
 
It was a precursor to the rest of the match, as Canada dominated both ball possession and field position for the entire match. Making her return from injury, Ghislaine Landry scored two first half tries to give Canada a 19-0 lead over Ireland at the break. A Britt Benn try furthered the lead to 26-0 in the second half, but Ireland scored late to ruin the Canadian shutout.
 
CANADA 24-7 FIJI
 
Canada improved to 2-0 on Day One of the Sao Paulo Sevens after a much needed 24-7 win over Fiji. With the win, Canada clinched a top-two spot in Pool A and a place in Sunday’s Cup Quarterfinals. Canada was looking for a little retribution after suffering their first ever loss to Fiji back in December at the Dubai Sevens.
 
Bianca Farella, who is playing in her first tournament of the season after returning from injury, opened the scoring with a try in the second minute. However, just before half time, the Fijians levelled the score with a try of their own and the match was tied 7-7 heading into the break.
 
While the match slowed in pace, Canada continued to control much of the ball and was rewarded through a Britt Benn try, her second of the day. Ghislaine Landry added a late brace, to give her four tries in the first two matches as Canada went through to a comfortable 24-7 win.

CANADA 14-29 AUSTRALIA
 
With top spot in the pool on the line, the world’s number one ranked team came from behind to hand Canada their first loss of the day. After Australia opened the scoring with two tries in quick succession, Canada hit back with two converted tries of their own to take a 14-10 lead into half.
 
However, Australia showed why they are the current series leaders with a mistake-free second half, scoring three tries while preventing the Canadians from touching down. With the win, Australia finished first in Pool A, while Canada placed second.

What Head Coach John Tait said:
 
“I was pleased with the way we played our first two games. We stayed on structure and were pretty efficient with the ball we won. I was a little frustrated though in the Fiji game with the penalties we took at our breakdowns for not releasing and although we won the game by a couple of scores, it took longer than it should have. It meant our starters had to stay out there longer in brutal heat and that probably caught up with us in the last game against Australia. In that game we never got our defence right against them and made a lot of really basic defensive errors and they made us pay for every one we made.”
 
“We need to stay in our structure, create the space for our finishers on attack. Defensively we need to trust our system and connections and stop pinching, France are excellent at picking apart defences that play as individuals.”

Canada’s Sao Paulo Sevens Day 1 Schedule:
 
Canada 26-7 Ireland
Canada 24-7 Fiji
Canada 14-29 Australia
 
Canada’s Sao Paulo Sevens Day 2 Schedule:
 
Canada vs France at 8:44 am ET / 5:44 am PT
 
Canada’s Roster for the Sao Paulo Sevens (Name, club, hometown):
 
Britt Benn – (Guelph Redcoats) Napanee, ON
Hannah Darling – (Peterborough Pagans) Warsaw, ON
Bianca Farella – (Town of Mont Royal RFC) Montreal, QC
Sara Kaljuvee – (Toronto Scottish) Ajax, ON
Jen Kish – (Edmonton Rockers) Edmonton, AB
Ghislaine Landry – (Toronto Scottish) Toronto, ON 
Megan Lukan – (Unattached) Barrie, ON
Mandy Marchak – (Capilano RFC) Winnipeg, MB 
Kayla Moleschi – (Williams Lake Rustlers) Williams Lake, BC
Breanne Nicholas – (London St. Georges) Blenheim, ON 
Karen Paquin – (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC
Kelly Russell – (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON
 
Canada’s Coaching Staff:
 
John Tait – Head Coach
Sandro Fiorino – Assistant Coach
Meaghan Howat – Manager
Sandeep Nandhra – Athletic Therapist
Tyler Goodale – Strength & Conditioning