Rugby Canada – Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team defeats Wales, Scotland and Samoa to lift Bowl title in fourth leg of HSBC Sevens World Series at Allianz Stadium in Australia

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team claimed silverware at the Sydney Sevens as they beat Samoa to claim the bowl title in the fourth event of the 2015-16 HSBC Sevens World Series.  The victory capped off a perfect 3-0 Day 2 for Canada after going 0-3 on Day 1. Next up for Canada is the USA Sevens in Las Vegas March 4-6 before the highly anticipated inaugural HSBC Canada Sevens at BC Place in Vancouver March 12-13. 

Canada 32-21 Wales

Canada recorded six tries in an entertaining Bowl quarter-final against Wales as they ran out 32-21 winners in Sydney.

A blistering first-half performance saw the Canadians go into the huddle 22-7 in front after Sean White got a double and Adam Zaruba and Nathan Hirayama added a third and fourth effort, with Wales responding through Ben Roach’s crossing.

After the break the contest became a frantic affair as somehow Wales, despite being second best and after Hirayama’s brace, launched a remarkable fightback through tries from Kristian Phillips and Sam Cross that made it 27-21 to Canada.

Fortunately Harry Jones sealed Canada’s passage to the Bowl semi-finals though with a late score to end Welsh hopes.

Canada 35-12 Scotland

Harry Jones grabbed a hat-trick as Canada cruised past Scotland into their first bowl final of the season. Canada got rolling early on as Nathan Hirayama touched down inside a minute before adding his second of the game just a few minutes later.

Jones grabbed his first try of the game late in the second half but Scotland nabbed a try right on the interval as Jamie Farndale dove over. Despite a Gavin Lowe try, Canada was never really threatened as Jones touched down two more times to send Canada into the bowl final.

Canada 17-12 Samoa

A brace from Nathan Hirayama gave Canada their second piece of hardware of the season after beating Samoa in the bowl final. Pat Kay got things rolling for Canada before Hirayama touched down before converting his own try for a 12-0 lead at the interval.

Hirayama would stretch the Canadian lead to 17-0 and despite two late Samoan tries, Canada were never threatened and held on for their best finish of the season. 

Canada’s Roster for the Sydney Sevens (Club), Hometown, Province:

Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC

Nanyak Dala – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK

Mike Fuailefau – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

Lucas Hammond – (Toronto Nomads/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON

Nathan Hirayama – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

Harry Jones – (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) West Vancouver, BC

Pat Kay – (Unattached) Duncan, BC

Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

Luke McCloskey – (Castaway Wanderers) Victoria, BC

John Moonlight – Captain (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON

Matt Mullins – (Queens University/Ontario Blues) Belleville, ON

Sean White – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

Adam Zaruba – (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

Unavailable due to injury:

Justin Douglas – (Abbotsford RFC/BC Bears) Abbotsford, BC

Sean Duke – (Unattached) Vancouver, BC

Mitch Santilli – (Brantford Harlequins) Brantford, ON

Conor Trainor – (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

Liam Underwood – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON

Senior Men’s Team Staff: 

Liam Middleton – Head Coach

Lee Douglas – Assistant Coach

Brian Hunter – Manager

Danielle Mah – Physiotherapist

Calum Ramsay – Performance Analyst

Canada’s Day 1 schedule for the Sydney Sevens:

Canada 12-27 New Zealand

Canada 12-26 Australia

Canada 17-26 Portugal

Day 2:

Canada 32-21 Wales

Canada 35-12 Scotland

Canada 17-12 Samoa

About Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is the national governing  body  of  the  sport  of  rugby  union  in Canada.  Rugby Football 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  six  IRB  Rugby  World Cups. As a regular on the IRB Sevens Circuit, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game.

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 with, Rugby Canada has put an emphasis on developing its junior programs.  Our goal is to develop and train a competitive team for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We  also  continue  to  be  a  world  leader  in  the  development  of  women’s  rugby. 

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Website: www.rugbycanada.ca 

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For more information, please contact:

Bryan Kelly, Rugby Canada

Manager, Communications and Media Relations

Phone: 250-216-5272

Email: bkelly@rugbycanada.ca