It was a day of mixed results, yet with a splash of encouragement thrown in, for the Langford-based Canadian teams in the HSBC World Series France Sevens at Toulouse.
Sophie De Goede of Victoria made an immediate impact in her crossover from XVs to sevens rugby. The Islander, who captained sa国际传媒 to the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in XVs last fall in New Zealand and was a nominee for World Rugby women’s player of the year, joined the Canadian sevens team for her first HSBC World Series tournament. She starred in sevens at Oak Bay Secondary and is more than familiar with the pared-down Olympic version of the sport.
The No. 8 Canadian women lost 26-19 to the U.S. and rebounded to beat Poland 35-7 on Friday in pool play with De Goede scoring tries in both games. Sabrina Poulin, another player converted from XVs to sevens, had two tries against the U.S. and one against Poland. Olympian Olivia Apps converted all five tries in the win over Poland.
The Canadians conclude pool play today against defending Tokyo Olympic champion New Zealand.
In the men’s France Sevens, the Island trio of Anton Ngongo out of Claremont Secondary and Lachlan Kratz and Jack Carson out of Oak Bay and their Canuck mates gave powerhouse New Zealand a decent run in a respectable 29-12 loss before blanking Uruguay 26-0 to open pool play.
Josiah Morra from the Castaway Wanderers of Oak Bay scored a try against New Zealand and was named impact player of the match with Kratz kicking a convert. Thomas Isherwood scored two tries, Morra a try and Kratz a convert against Uruguay with Morra again named impact player of the match as he reached 250 points and 50 tries in his World Series career.
sa国际传媒 closes out pool play against Kenya today as it continues to fight for its existence in the World Series. The top 11 teams are guaranteed to stay on the World Series, which is shrinking from 16 teams to 12 teams for 2024. The 12th through 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, went into the France Sevens in 14th place in the World Series with only the season-ending London Sevens remaining following Toulouse. The Canadians are 25 points adrift of 11th place, held by Uruguay, and will have to play in the relegation tournament. The aim over the last two tournaments is to at least qualify for the relegation tournament. sa国际传媒 is eight points ahead of 15th place Japan for the final spot in the relegation tournament and its victory over Uruguay on Friday, combined with another today against Kenya, would go a long way toward assuring at least 14th place and a spot on the relegation qualifier.
Canadian interim head coach Sean White of Victoria, a former international in both XVs and sevens, said he has his side focusing on “processes” and “a never-back-down attitude.”
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.
The next window is when the Canadian men’s and women’s teams host the North American and Caribbean qualifying tournaments, on Aug. 19-20 at Starlight Stadium in Langford, for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
