Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

A brace of tries from HSBC Player of the Final Tyla Nathan-Wong secured a fourth title in seven years for New Zealand at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 2018 on Friday.

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It may have been the lowest scoring final in HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series history, but Canada's 7-5 victory over England in the HSBC Kitakyushu Sevens final was a nail-biting encounter that was only settled with the final kick of the game at Mikuni World Stadium on Sunday.

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A packed BC Place Stadium in Vancouver helped hosts Canada to secure a place in the Cup quarter-final following two pool-stage wins against Scotland and Russia on Saturday. Only New Zealand could stop Damian MacGrath’s in a close encounter (14-15) and as a result, Canada will face series leaders South Africa today. New Zealand ended the day without a loss and will face England on day two. 

The 40,000 enthusiastic fans witnessed an entertaining day of 7s not just by the home team but also by neighbours USA, who swiped through the first tournament with a clean sheet. Mike Friday’s team seem to carry over the strong performance from Las Vegas where they finished 3rd. After wins against Japan, France and Australia, the team will be challenged by Argentina in the Cup quarters.  

Following an opening victory against Samoa, Argentina lost to Wales but managed to land a historic 26-24 win against Olympic champions Fiji. However, with wins over Wales and Samoa, Fiji still managed to stay in the top-end of the tournament as they will go head-to-head with Australia on day two.

Top-favourites South Africa continued their winning run with a solid start against Chile and a 15-5 win against Kenya. In the pool decider against England, both teams worked hard to get away with three points however the match resulted in a 12-12 draw, enough for South Africa to take the top spot in Pool A.

Cup Quarter-Finals:

South Africa v Canada

USA v Argentina

New Zealand v England

Fiji v Australia

Challenge Trophy Quarter-Finals:

Kenya v Scotland

France v Samoa

Russia v Chile

Wales v Japan

Quick Links

Canada Sevens | Results Day 1

Canada Sevens | Fixtures Day 2

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For the second time this season, England beat South Africa in the final to win Gold at the Canada Sevens in Vancouver. The 19-7 victory helped England to move to second position in the table and reduce the gap to leaders South Africa to 23 points.

Back-to-back series champions Fiji drop to third in the standings (100 points) after a close 28-24 win over USA in the Bronze final.

Once again it was Gloucester-born Dan Norton who lead England to the Cup win with an outstanding performance, resulting in the DHL Impact Player award, HSBC Player of the Final award and also levelling Kenya’s Collins Injera record for all-time tries on the series.

Earlier in the Cup semi-finals South Africa beat a strong USA team 14-10, while England overcame Fiji 40-7 in an impressive display.  

The series continues with the Hong Kong Sevens on 7th of April.

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Canada Sevens | Results

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Fiji’s 31-12 victory saw them finish the HSBC Canada Sevens unbeaten and move to second place, overtaking New Zealand, in the 2018 series standings.

Today’s Cup win is Fiji first in Vancouver and their 33rd win in 66 Cup finals.

The thrilling final was the second meeting between the two sides this weekend as both Fiji and Kenya went head to head in Pool C on day one. Fiji took the spoils in that match with a closely contested 24-21 score line.

The final on day two followed Fiji’s victories over Argentina (43-7) in the quarter-final and South Africa (15-12) in the semi-final. It was Kenya who were first on the scoring board with a try from Willy Ambaka, but Fiji responded through Josua Vakurunabili and by half time both sides had added another to draw even 12-12 at the break.  Fiji dominated the second half with three further tries, Sevuloni Mocenacagi adding to his first half score to secure a brace and the HSBC Player of the Final title.

After the full-time whistle Head Coach Gareth Baber was pleased with their final performance and the two days as a whole, “There’s a real sense of pride more than anything today. We handled ourselves well across the weekend to get to a final with Kenya, who we’d had a tough battle with yesterday. It was very close at the break, we hadn’t really played much at half time but the team responded in the second half and produced the rugby that we now Fijians can and it was great to watch.”

“You’re always looking for some consistency in form and you get confidence from it and when you have confidence you play better again. We learned from last weekend, losing to USA but we knew we had to come here and get something out of it to keep pressure on the top of the table and that’s what we’ve done - mission accomplished as far as Vancouver is concerned and we go back to Fiji now to prepare for Hong Kong.”

South Africa claimed the bronze medal after beating USA 29-7, the series leaders running in five tries to one in front of a packed BC Place.

The Challenge Trophy winners were Scotland after day two victories over Canada (19-0), Wales 26-15) and Spain (25-5) in the final. Samoa secured the 13th place win over Canada 21-15 and England beat Australia for 5th place 31-4.

Afters six rounds, South Africa retain their top spot in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 standings but Fiji, now in second place, are only eight points behind them with New Zealand in third. The teams will reconvene in Hong Kong 6-8 April.

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Canada Sevens | Results

World Rugby Sevens Series | Standings

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New Zealand completed a golden month of rugby sevens with a scintillating display of power and precision to beat series leaders Australia 46-0 to successfully defend their HSBC Canada Women's Sevens title.

The HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series 2018 title race is set for an enthralling conclusion in Paris next month after New Zealand produced 14 minutes of sublime sevens to beat Australia 46-0 in the final of the HSBC Canada Women's Sevens in Langford on Sunday.

The Black Ferns Sevens were simply untouchable in the final. They starved series leaders Australia of possession and met any attack they tried to put together with an impenetrable black wall in defence, while with ball in hand they were mesmerising and clinical, turning virtually every foray into Australia's half in points.

It was the 13th time the most dominant teams in series history had met in a Cup final and it was a complete reverse of their last. Australia that day ran out 31-0 winners in Sydney, the first time New Zealand had failed to score a single point in a match. This time it was New Zealand's turn to shut out their opponents and record their highest score against Australia by some margin.

USA WIN BRONZE

USA finished strongly to claim the bronze medal with a 21-5 victory over Kitakyushu runners-up France. Les Bleues had scored first after some quick work from Camille Grassineau at the breakdown led to a try for Caroline Drouin. The score looked set to stay at 5-0 until, on the stroke of half-time, Naya Tapper stepped round her defender and raced away to send the USA into the huddle with a two-point lead. Some great work and strength from Alev Kelter created a try for Katherine Zackary and it was fitting left to the USA playmaker to then create one for herself at the death.

CANADA FINISH FIFTH

A hat-trick from Farella ensured the home fans went home happy after Canada beat Ireland 29-12 to finish fifth. There were only seconds on the clock when she ran in her first try with Hannah Darling adding a second soon after. Audrey O'Flynn did cross for Ireland but Farella was in scintillating form on Sunday and raced home from distance twice more before Charity Williams also showed Canada's fans that long-range tries are her forte as well.

JAPAN WIN CHALLENGE TROPHY

Japan created a piece of history in winning the Challenge Trophy, their 26-21 victory over Spain meaning they finish a series event with three wins to their names. Tries by Iera Echebarria and Uri Barrutieta looked to have Spain in control at 14-7, but a brace from captain Chiharu Nakamura saw Japan the front for the first time. Echebarria grabbed a second to tie things up once more, but there was to be one final twist with Tomomi Kozasa scoring the winning try with time almost up.

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Canada 7s | Results Day 2

World Sevens Series | Standings

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New Zealand moved a step closer to regaining the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series title in Langford, Canada, on Sunday when they put in a gutsy display in the final against the home side that was enjoying playing in front of a partisan and packed crowd.

A barnstorming display by Rubi Tui that won her the HSBC Player of the Final award, spearheaded an impressive Black Ferns Sevens performance as the series champions-in-waiting registered a 17-7 victory in the final. 

Two early NZ tries from Michaella Blyde (one of a remarkable nine she scored this weekend) and Tyla Nathan-Wong, rocked the home team, who found themselves 12-0 down with just three minutes gone. An eerie hush descended on Westhills Stadium, which just moments before had cheered raucously after a rousing rendition of ‘Oh Canada’. But if anyone thought it was going to be a stroll in the park for New Zealand, that’s not how it would pan out as Canada fought their way back into the game.

Indeed, with captain Ghislaine Landry leading from the front, Canada threatened to upset the Kiwis and they hit before the break with a try from speedster Julia Greenshields. And that’s the way it stayed until the final play of the game when replacement Alena Saili crossed in the corner to seal the deal for New Zealand. 

Led by Tui, Theresa Fitzpatrick and Niall Williams, NZ did their best to control the ball in that tense second half and they were largely successful, frustrating the home side by denying them possession at every turn.

HSBC Player of the Final Tui was typically humble in accepting her award and also made reference to a number of players who were unable to make the trip to Langford due to commitments with the New Zealand 15s team. She said: “I couldn’t do a single part of my job if it wasn’t the whole team. There were a few girls back home we wanted to make proud, the whole Black Ferns 15s team – it’s a countrywide thing so it was great for us to be able to do that for them. I know they’ll have been following us and they’ll be so pleased.”

Far from being put off by the home support, Tui had nothing but praise for the 4,000 or so Canadians who turned up to shout for their team.

She said: “The crowd here was the bomb, they were off the chain! You can’t ask more from a home town crowd than to cheer for their country as loud as they can because to me that’s cheering for all of rugby so it’s awesome and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

While it was to be New Zealand’s day, it’s worth mentioning how good Canada were this weekend, too. Their chosen theme song, which blasted out across the ground this weekend whenever they scored, was ‘Takin’ Care of Business’ by the cult Canadian rock band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Of course, when Randy Bachman wrote that great 1970s anthem he was being somewhat ironic (“If you ever get annoyed, look at me I'm self-employed; I love to work at nothing all day”). 

But no one watching the HSBC Canada Sevens in British Columbia this week could accuse these Canadians of having a work ethic that was anything short of industrious. Whether in attack or defence, they gave everything they had in every game and, in spite of the pressures put on them by the expectant home support, they rose to the occasion, moved into an overdrive of their own and took care of business in front of an adoring and, at times, delirious Langford crowd.

That is, right up to the final when they came up against a young and relatively inexperienced New Zealand that clearly had something to prove to those who said they couldn’t do it without the likes of Sarah Goss, Portia Woodman and Kelly Brazier in the side.

Earlier, the quarter-finals went pretty much to form with Canada, Australia, France and New Zealand all making it into the last four. The home team had never made it past that stage in Langford so it settled plenty of local nerves when Canada took control from the first minute of the game against England with a try from Ashley Steacy. And they never took the foot off the pedal, giving the English no way back into the game, finishing the game 33-5 to the good thanks to further tries from Landry (two), Brittany Benn and Megan Lukan.

The Aussies were too strong for the United States with a brace of tries from Emilee Cherry proving the difference as the Olympic champions ran out 22-10 winners. 

France have been one of the success stories of this season’s series and again proved they are something to be reckoned with by beating a tenacious Ireland 19-5 in the third quarter-final thanks to tries from Pauline Biscarat, Fanny Horta and Montserrat Amedee.

New Zealand had it all their own way against Russia, keeping coach Andrey Kuzin’s side scoreless as Blyde, Crystal Mayes, Tui and Saili getting over the whitewash to win 24-0.

The semi-final against France was more of the same for the Black Ferns Sevens as they continued to improve through the tournament. Blyde and Mayes again scored tries, as did Katarina Whata-Simpkins and the peerless Niall Williams as NZ glided serenely into the final.

For Canada, it was less straightforward as they had to come from behind to beat Australia, who went on to beat France in the bronze final, but it was like the crowd in Westhills carried them over the line on occasion as they came back into the contest after an early Aussie try from inspirational captain Sharni Williams. Composure under pressure, coupled with the blistering pace of players like Greenshields and Charity Williams saw the local favourites into the final as they desperately sought to become the first team ever to win a series event at home. Sadly for them, that is an unusual record that still stands.

Among those who didn’t emerge from pool play, Fiji put some of that disappointment behind them by winning the Challenge Trophy, beating Spain 31-7 in the final with two stunning tries from Miriama Naiobasali. On Saturday, Fiji had given up a 14-0 lead to lose eventually to Ireland and then they went down 12-7 to Spain before playing brilliantly to hold Australia to a 24-24 draw. No one doubts that when Fiji finally click they might just be unstoppable. 

Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

France and South Africa had never previously met in a Cup final and Pierre Gilles Lakafia’s early try forced South Africa to come from behind but they stood up impressively, putting three converted tries on France before conceding again.

(Pictures & Text via World Rugby)

Scotland defeated England in a scintillating HSBC London Sevens final on Sunday as South Africa were officially crowned series champions. 

Captain Scott Riddell scored the winner as they beat the auld enemy 12-5 to raise the trophy in London for the second year in a row. Callum McCrea's men earlier made history by becoming the first Scottish team to beat a New Zealand team in their history.

Speaking afterwards, the head coach said: "I’m very, very pleased with the effort from the boys. We’ve learned from a poor final against South Africa last week (in Paris). This week we dusted ourselves off and came back. It was a different mindset as holders."

Canada claimed bronze after beating USA 22-19, and the Challenge Trophy was won by Fiji, who beat Wales, 26-14. England finished second in the series standings with the Olympic Games Champions Fiji finishing third overall this season. 

Final

With one of the most sensational tries scored in a rugby sevens final this season, Dan Norton opened the scoring a physical, start to the match that saw Ollie Lyndsey Hague taken off early. His replacement, Richard De Carpentier was denied a follow-up effort as the two sides went at each other in an energy-sapping encounter, that saw the hosts lead 7-0 at half-time.

Hugh Blake evened it up after the break, capitalising on a loose ball but the winner came after a Joe Nayacavou offload went to HSBC Player of the final Mark Robertson whose pass put Scott Riddell over in the corner. England pressed in the closing minutes but the Scottish defence held firm.  

The winning captain said afterwards: “I’m absolutely elated. This sport is something that just grips you. It’s so special and I’m so proud of the boys. I’m lost for words. We were under the pump and we just keep fighting and we took our chances. You couldn’t write a script like that.”

Semi-finals

The Bagpipes were in full cry as Scotland ran out to play in their second semi-final in as many weeks. This time the opposition was Perry Baker and his USA colleagues and an entertaining spectacle was in store. A tense first half saw a try-saving tackle from Mark Robertson on Ben Pinkleman release the ball for last year’s final hero, Dougie Fife, to break clear and score under the posts. But wonder winger Baker responded as he broke away, side-stepped a defender and went under the posts to leave it 7-7 at half time.

USA thought they had hit back in the second half as Folau Niua crossed the line in the corner, but the TMO replay showed that he knocked on. Scotland seized on the momentum and Glenn Bryce, who was at the forefront of the Scottish attack all weekend, touched down in the corner. The Scots lead lasted less than two minutes until Baker made it look so easy as he jogged in under the posts.

At 14-14, the game was most certainly on. The Scots, well used to winning at the death, had to do it again and Nayacavou stepped up to crash in underneath the posts and send the crowd into raptures.

England and Canada followed that and the hosts were clearly up for the challenge, with dream-teamer Ollie Lyndsey-Hague executing a beautiful goose-step to score under the sticks early on. But the men in red were up for the challenge and hard work from Justin Douglas paid off as Adam Zaruba equalised. But back came England with Lyndsey-Hague again scoring after nice play by Norton, making it 14-5 at the break. The second half was close until Norton, sensational all weekend, evaded a Douglas challenge to dot down in the corner and Lyndsey-Hague’s hat-trick in the same corner guaranteed the win, 24-5; the auld enemy set to clash in the final.

Quarter-final

He makes it look so easy. The first quarter-final of the day was barely two minutes old when the tournament and series top try scorer Perry Baker got the ball in his hands, and with a few yards of space, he executed brilliantly as he’s done so many times in a USA jersey. Minutes later, Maka Unufe got the ball in space and scored out wide before he made a classy break to dot down under the posts. Australia’s Alex Gibbon touched down before the break to leave it 19-7 at half time.

After the pause, Baker added to his tally before completing his hat-trick in style. A try from Simon Kennewell was merely a consolation and USA marched on to the semis in style, 31-14.

Scotland took on a New Zealand side that were unbeaten on day one and were chasing shadows for Sam Dickson’s opening try, as they struggled in the London summer sun. Fa’asiu Fuatai made their task more difficult before Andrew Knewstubb crashed over to make it 21-0 to the All Black Sevens at the break.

A different Scotland side ran out for the second half, with Dougie Fife scoring two tries to start the fightback. With 40 seconds to go, a try from Jamie Farndale put the Scots within four before an issue over player numbers on the pitch gave Scotland a penalty. Roared on by the London crowd, the Scots kept their composure and went through the phases to put Farndale over for his second and celebrations ensued on the side-line, as Scotland beat New Zealand for the first time in rugby history.

After such an exciting match, England Rugby HQs was buzzing as the home side took the field against South Africa, and fans were soon on their feet again as Dan Norton broke away for yet another try at Twickenham. A tight encounter saw the Blitzboks' Chris Dry cross to make it one try apiece at the break. Werner Kok silenced the Twickenham faithful after the resumption of play with a well-worked try, but went from hero to villain minutes later as he was sin-binned for a neck roll and James Rodwell levelled after good phase-play from the resulting penalty.

It came down to the last play – just to add to the excitement of the day – and who else but Norton? The TMO was asked to verify but there was no doubt that Norton added to his total and England were through at the expense of the series champions.

The last quarter-final was more straight forward as an impressive Canadian side took on Argentina. The Singapore champions took the game to the South Americans and two tries from Nathan Hiryama and one from Mike Fuailefau and Justin Douglas put the game beyond reach. A try from Julian Dominguez was not enough and Canada went through to a semi-final with the hosts.

(Picture & Text: World Rugby)

Canada won their first ever HSBC World Rugby Sevens series tournament after beating USA 26-19 in a heart-stopping final in Singapore.

The Canadians raced ahead into a 19-0 lead but USA scored twice through Perry Baker in a thrilling finale. A try in the dying moments from Lucas Hammond sealed the win for Damian McGrath's side. 

Shocks and upsets were the order of the day as Fiji, South Africa and New Zealand all crashed out on at the quarter-final stages of the tournament on Sunday.

Elsewhere England won the bronze medal match at the National Stadium after beating Australia 14-12 while Wales beat Scotland 24-12 to win the Challenge Trophy.

Speaking after the historic match, HSBC Player of the Final Nathan Hirayama said: "It's an unbelievable feeling. A lot of us have been on the scene a long time and we came through some dark times, but to come away with that win was special."

Coach Damian McGrath, who coached Samoa to a shock win at the HSBC Paris Sevens last year, added: "It's incredible. Last night (on day one) we were beaten by Fiji so we had a little bit of soul searching and then we came back and beat some of the best teams in the world. This will show that Canadian rugby has so much to offer." 

USA ran out in a tournament final for the first time since they won the HSBC London Sevens in 2015 and while Canada played in the Glasgow Sevens final in 2014 they hadn't featured in one since and never claimed a series tournament win.

The game kicked off with a quick try from Canada's Matt Mullins and while the USA was processing that, the Canadians struck again through Harry Jones to make it 12-0. USA pushed up the field but a break saw Mike Fuailefau touchdown after a kick ahead, and the Canadians were suddenly 19-0 ahead. Safe to say, USA were not expecting that.

But it wasn't long before speedster Perry Baker turned on the after-burners and one try followed by another from Stephen Tomasin made it 19-12 at half time; game on.

And then it looked like Canada would be waiting another lifetime for a precious tournament win. After the resumption of play, Baker, in imperious form all weekend, flashed down the win for yet another try to leave the USA fans at the National Stadium in full voice as the match was levelled, 19-19.

The match went back and forth until Lucas Hammond seized on an opening in the American defence to score and the Canadians hung on to claim the top prize on the night.  

Captain John Moonlight said afterwards: “It’s hard to put that into words. We took a licking against Fiji yesterday, and from our coach. But we showed up today, we showed the world we can beat anyone. We beat three of the best teams today. We are flying. An unbelievable feeling.”

The action now moves to Paris for the penultimate round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series on May 13 and 14 at Stadium Jean Bouin. Click here to find out where you can watch the action.

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New Zealand had led 12-0 through Joe Ravouvou and Andrew Knewstubb but Spain hit back, Ignacio Rodriguez-Guerra doing down in the corner before captain Francisco Hernandez put his side ahead at the break. Joan Losada’s try was cancelled out by Ravouvou and Sam Dickson, but after the hooter, Losada broke down the left wing and found Pol Pla on the inside to seal a famous victory.

South Africa took a huge step towards their second series win after beating Fiji 19-12 in the final of the USA Sevens yesterday.

The Blitzboks have now a comfortable 24-point buffer at the top of the standings, with Fiji in second and England in third following their fifth place finish in Vegas. 

In an intense final, Olympic champions Fiji tried everything to win their first title this season. Masivesi Dakuwaqa scored early on in the match, but South Africa’s playmaker Cecil Afrika replied with try just moments after. Forward Chris Dry added another try early on in the second half, before HSBC Player of the Final Rosko Specman scored an incredible individual try to win the game. Waisea Nacuqu got Fiji back into the game, but it was just too little too late. 

With victories in Dubai, Sydney, Wellington and now Las Vegas, the Blitzboks have had their best start ever to a world series. 

"We're happy with how it's been going the last few tournaments and the guys are believing in a system and working for each other," he said. "They are showing a lot of pride in the jersey and the fact that they can play for their country. They showed a lot of composure in the final and managed to take control back in the second half."

Hosts USA finished in a strong third position after beating New Zealand 19-15 in the Bronze final, while Kenya took victory in the Challenge Trophy final, beating Samoa 21-14.

The teams have now just a few days to recover before the next stage of the HSBC Sevens Series in Vancouver kicks-off.   

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Australia, Canada and New Zealand finished top of their pools as the HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series 2019 kicked off at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado, on Saturday.

Defending series champions Australia had to recover from 15-0 down at half-time in their Pool A decider with Russia to make it three wins from three at the HSBC USA Women's Sevens and set up a Cup quarter-final with the hosts who finished third in Pool B.

Pic: World Rugby

Rugby Canada secures hosting rights to HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series event for four more years; Grosvenor and Sport Hosting Vancouver re-sign as Premier Partners for the record-breaking HSBC Canada Sevens that will continue until 2023.

After just five days to rest and recover from a lengthy and bruising Las Vegas weekend, the 16 teams have landed in Canada’s third largest city, the picturesque west-coast metropolis of Vancouver in order to crown the winner of the sixth stage of this year’s HSBC Sevens World Series. 

Following the launch of the event in 2016, the Canada Sevens have been proven to be a massive success and ticket sales for the only tournament played on artificial turf have even picked up this year. A huge crowd of 76,000 rugby-mad supporters are expected to turn up over the next couple of days. 

While the party on the ranks of the state-of-the-art BC Place Stadium is set, it is now down to the teams on the pitch to deliver a worthy entertainment programme. The Blitzboks are entering the sixth stage of the series as massive favourites with four out of five tournament wins and just two of their 30 matches lost. 

However, despite the overwhelming South African dominance at the HSBC World Sevens Series this year, Blitzboks coach Neil Powell warned this week:

“Unfortunately there is a lot of talk that we have the series sewn up, which cannot be further from the truth,” he said.

“One bad tournament, where you don't make the semi-finals, could derail our momentum significantly. The last thing I want to players to think of is a fifth tournament win or our lead in the series and then getting ahead of themselves. We dare not to look past Chile in that first pool game.” 

Besides Chile, Pool A also includes England and Kenya, two teams who are capable of beating the Boks’ as proven in the past. Especially England, who finished in a disappointing 5th position in Las Vegas are eager to close the two-point gap to second-placed Fiji who is just sitting above Simon Amor’s men at the moment.

Fiji, drawn in Pool B with Argentina, Samoa and Wales have shown a significant increasing performance last weekend, but the discipline did let the Olympic champions down eventually when they lost to South Africa in the final. 

Like Fiji, the USA also played with huge confidence boost in Sin City. Supported by an enthusiastic crowd, the hosts only just lost to South Africa in the semi-final but got away with a well-deserved Bronze final win against New Zealand. If they can carry the momentum over to this weekend, they might be able to win their Pool C where they meet Australia, France and Japan. 

Finally, in Pool D the Canadians will go head to head with New Zealand, Scotland and Russia. Canada who had their best result in January when they lost to Scotland in the Wellington Bronze Final, will certainly don’t want to let their home fans down on this special occasion. The team, under the guidance of former Samoa coach Damian McGrath, experienced some major upsets in recent years such as the missed Rio-qualification and significant cuts in funding. This weekend could be a golden opportunity to unleash their potential in front of 10000s of Canadian fans.         

WHERE AND WHEN?

The Canada Sevens take place at the BC Place Stadium (Capacity 54,500) in Vancouver, from Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th of March. The matches kick-off on Saturday at 09:30 local time (GMT -8) and Sunday 09:30 local time. The final is scheduled for 18:19 local time on Sunday 

WHERE CAN I SEE IT?

In the UK Sky Sports will cover the tournament on all days. For a full TV guide click here, for any other country check out this handy guide.

ONE TO WATCH

Since Seabelo Senatla has left the Blitzboks to join Super Rugby franchise Stormers, questions arose about who could replace the brilliant all-rounder. Last weekend Roscko Specman put his name in the head with a spectacular man of the final performance is the man. The 27-year old is now one of the most exciting prospects on the tour.  

THE POOLS

Pool A: South Africa, England, Kenya, Chile

Pool B: Fiji, Argentina, Samoa, Wales

Pool C: Australia, France, Japan, USA

Pool D: Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Russia

DAY ONE SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL TIMES)

Australia v France – 09:30

United States v Japan – 09:52

Argentina v Samoa – 10:14

Fiji v Wales – 10:36

England v Kenya – 10:58

South Africa v Chile – 11:20

Canada v Scotland – 11:42

New Zealand v Russia – 12:04

Australia v Japan – 13:06

United States v France – 13:28

Argentina v Wales – 13:50

Fiji v Samoa – 14:12

England v Chile – 14:34

South Africa v Kenya – 14:56

Canada v Russia – 15:18

New Zealand v Scotland – 15:40

France v Japan – 16:46

United States v Australia – 17:08

Samoa v Wales – 17:30

Fiji v Argentina – 17:52

Kenya v Chile – 18:14

South Africa v England – 18:36

Scotland v Russia – 18:58

New Zealand v Canada – 19:20

The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series delivered scintillating action in Las Vegas last weekend with a victory for USA on home soil.

The win puts the Eagles top of the table going into the HSBC Canada Sevens in Vancouver, hosted at the BC Stadium on 9-10 March.

Text, Pictures and Video via World Rugby

The tournament is the penultimate round of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series 2019 with New Zealand sitting top of the standings with 72 points.

Hosts Canada, who are currently ranked second with 66 points after winning the Cup final in Kitakyushu last month, will be hoping for their first win on home soil this weekend.

Pictures & Videos via World Rugby

This weekend marks the start of a brand-new HSBC Women’s World Series with the curtain-raiser to be held in the US. For the second time, hosted at the Infinity Park in Glendale (Colorado), the opening stage of the series takes place in Colorado Sevens ahead of a huge year for the game. 

1) Taveuni succeed at Coral Cost Sevens

First Light Taveuni won the famous Mana Whey Fiji Coral Coast Sevens this week in closely-fought Cup final against Wardens and walk away with $20,000. The debutants scored two tries to win 12-10 in front of a large crowd including new Fijian head coach Gareth Baber.

The annual Coral Cost Sevens has grown developed into an international top-class tournament featuring men’s, women’s and junior competitions. 

RESULTS OF THE MANA WHEY FIJI CORAL COAST SEVENS

I-wau (Cup)

First Light Taveuni 12 Wardens 10

Plate

Police 19 Uluinakau 17

Bowl

McDonald's Saunaka 21 Germany 19

Shield

Uprising 28 BLK Iron Courage 12

Full story

2) Wellington Sevens sales struggle

Pic: World Rugby

The HSBC World Sevens Series returns for the first time this year with the Wellington Sevens next weekend. During the last couple of weeks, the media reported a disappointing ticket sale for the event which is running since 1999.  

However, Wellington Sevens officials have now announced that they are expecting about 15,000 fans to attend each day of the tournament which is a lot less than at the height of the event's popularity, but slightly up on last year. 

The competition takes place at the Westpac Stadium with a capacity of 34,500 seats.

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3) Canada Sevens sold out

Pic: World Rugby

While the Wellington Sevens struggled with ticket sales, the Canada Sevens, staged in March, are already sold all 33,000 available tickets. 

The tournament, based in Vancouver, only takes place for the second time, but the interest for the event is huge. There is a possibility to release more tickets for the tournament. However, tournament CEO Bill Cooper said:  “We’ll be looking at it very carefully, but our first priority will be atmosphere for those already in the building. As a result, any further seat expansion would be subject to what we reasonably think can sell between now and tournament weekend.”     

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4) Australian Sevens women’s featured in Vogue magazine

Watch: Rugby Sevens Vs Team Vogue teaser. See what happens when Team Vogue takes the Rugby Sevens. https://t.co/iOPDPXes8h pic.twitter.com/k0KRmdaMGL

— Vogue Australia (@vogueaustralia) January 21, 2017

The Olympic and World Series champions Australia appeared in the latest edition of the Vogue Magazine as part of a shoot on Maroubra beach in Sydney.

The famous fashion magazine featured the highly successful team in the Australian edition. The photo shoot includes seven of the Olympic squad members, with co-captains Sharni Williams and Shannon Parry, alongside teammates Charlotte Caslick, Emma Tonegato, Chloe Dalton, Emilee Cherry and Alicia Quirk.

The Women’s Sevens Series returns on the first weekend of February at the Sydney Sevens.

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5) Ben Ryan got a new job

Following various rumours about Ben Ryan’s next career step (including a role with the British and Irish Lions), this week the Welsh Rugby Union appointed the former Fijian coach as a consultant.  

The 45-year old has joined the WRU to work with all men's teams outside Rob Howley's national squad, and all Wales' women's teams.

"Ben Ryan's appointment is a real coup for Welsh rugby," said WRU head of rugby performance Geraint John.

Ryan, who will also work on coach development at the WRU, said: "I am really looking forward to all that lies ahead."

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