It isn鈥檛 often, if ever, to have Canadians cheering for U.S. national teams. The one exception, however, is in rugby this year.
That sentiment will continue as the Langford-based Canadian men鈥檚 sevens team prepares for the World Series Hong Kong Sevens tournament this weekend.
The U.S. is having a blazing World Series season, through which the top four teams will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. If the U.S. qualifies through the World Series route, then it won鈥檛 need to take part in the Americas and Caribbean regional Olympic qualifying tournament, for which the place and dates were announced this week. It will be held July 6-7 in George Town, Cayman Islands, and sa国际传媒鈥檚 path to Tokyo will be much easier without the Americans present.
Heading into the Hong Kong Sevens, the U.S. leads the World Series standings with 113 points with New Zealand second with 106, Fiji third with 101 and South Africa fourth with 89.
鈥淩ugby sevens鈥� inclusion in the Olympic Games was a defining moment for the sport,鈥� said World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont, in a statement.
鈥淪ince the outstanding success of Rio 2016 we have seen sevens grow both on and off the pitch.鈥�
World Rugby announced the other men鈥檚 Olympic regional qualifiers this summer will be in Santiago, Chile, for South America; Colomiers, France, for Europe; Suva, Fiji, for Oceania; Incheon, South Korea, for Asia; and Africa to be announced.
The 12th and final Olympic berth will go to the winner of the all-world, at-large last-chance repechage next year, but that will be a much tougher path for sa国际传媒 than the Americas and Caribbean qualifier in July.
sa国际传媒, which did not qualify for Rio 2016, is currently in 12th place heading into the Hong Kong Sevens, one of four remaining 2019 World Series tournaments.
Connor Braid of Victoria will look to continue his monstrous season, in which the Oak Bay High and James Bay product leads the World Series DHL Performance rankings with 40 tackles, 18 breaks, 20 off-loads and 148 carries for a total of 226 points.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care about the [personal] scoring and stuff, as long as we are successful as a team,鈥� said Braid.
Mike Fuailefau of Victoria will play in his 49th World Series tournament and the St. Michaels Univesity School graduate will hit 50 at the next stop in Singapore.
Also named to the Canadian team for the Hong Kong Sevens is fellow SMUS-grad Luke McCloskey of Victoria, Isaac Kaay of the University of Victoria Vikes, Matt Mullins of James Bay and former UVic Vikes star Nathan Hirayama. Regular Pat Kay of Duncan is injured.
sa国际传媒 opens Friday in pool play against Argentina, France and Portugal.
Meanwhile, the top four women鈥檚 teams in their 2019 World Series season will also advance directly to Tokyo 2020. The Langford-based and 2016 Rio Olympics bronze-medallist Canadians are third in the standings after the first three of six World Series events. The Island will get a first-hand taste of the Olympic qualifying race when the fifth women鈥檚 World Series tournament, the sa国际传媒 Sevens, swings into a revamped 6,000-seat Westhills Stadium on May 11-12.
If sa国际传媒 finishes out of the World Series top-four this season, it must try to qualify for Tokyo through the women鈥檚 Olympic Americas and Caribbean qualifier, which will be held alongside the men鈥檚 July 6-7 in the Cayman Islands.
