The Langford-based Canadian men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams have reached a point where they will be playing for their very futures.
Next up for the women is the North American and Caribbean qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Aug. 19-20 at Starlight Stadium. For the men, it’s the relegation tournament this week in London to remain in the HSBC World Series for next season, followed by the regional Olympic qualifying tournament at Starlight Stadium in August.
“This will start at home in our training environment first, then we look forward to our Olympic qualifier. But the goal is not just to be Olympians, it’s to be Olympic medallists, and we have a lot of work to do right now to get there,” Canadian women’s head coach Jack Hanratty said in a statement.
The Canadian women closed out the France Sevens in Toulouse with a 15-14 loss to Spain on Sunday to place ninth in the tournament and ninth overall in the World Series season standings.
The top four men’s and women’s teams in the HSBC World Series this season will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. For the first time the Canadian women have failed to qualify through that route to the Games.
“We had some brilliant moments in every tournament this year, but we didn’t make this a constant,” said Hanratty.
Defending Tokyo Olympic gold-medallist New Zealand won the women’s France Sevens.
The Canadian men, meanwhile, had their best tournament of the season by going 2-1 in pool play in the France Sevens and upsetting Australia 12-10 in the quarter-finals in Toulouse. The Canucks were beaten 33-5 by Argentina in the semifinals and 28-12 by France in the bronze-medal game, both Sunday, to finish fourth. New Zealand defeated Argentina 24-19 in extra time in the gold-medal final.
“It was certainly a weekend we won’t soon forget,” Canadian interim head coach Sean White of Victoria said in a statement.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the boys and their relentless effort they showed each and every game. It’s a credit to the training group back home in Langford and the pressure they put on each other each day on the field and in the gym. Although we found success in Toulouse, it’s London that ultimately holds the challenge we’ve been preparing for. We accept the challenge head on and can’t wait to get stuck into it.”
The results in France assured No. 14 sa国际传媒 a spot in the relegation-qualifier this week in London. The top 11 teams are guaranteed to stay in the World Series, which is shrinking from 16 teams to 12 teams for 2024. The 12th 13th and 14th placing teams this season, along with the Challenger Series champion, will play in a four-team relegation tournament for the 12th and final spot in next year’s HSBC World Series. sa国际传媒, rebuilding after the mass retirement of veterans following the quarter-final appearance in the Tokyo Olympics, does not want to slip to the lower divisions after running with the big boys all these years.
