By Canadian Press

Canadian rugby women finish third at Cape Town Sevens, men place 11th

Dec 15, 2019 | 9:46 AM

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Canada’s women finished third at the Cape Town Sevens on Sunday, rallying to defeat France 22-17 in extra time to earn a medal for the second week in a row on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

The Canadian women opened the season with a disappointing sixth in Glendale, Colo., before finishing runner-up to New Zealand last weekend in Dubai.

With France leading 17-12, Joanna Grisez was sent to the sin bin with 32 seconds left for grabbing Canadian speedster Charity Williams by the hair as Canada pressed for the trying score in the third-place game. Bianca Farella scored in the corner from the penalty to tie the game at 17-17 and the game went to extra time after captain Ghislaine Landry missed the long conversion attempt.

The Canadians then penned the French in their own end before Britt Benn ripped the ball free and passed to Julia Greenshields who dive in for the winning try

The French had beaten the Canadians 14-12 in pool play Saturday at Cape Town Stadium, just the third win for France in 26 career meetings.

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Australia played New Zealand in the women’s championship game. South Africa faced New Zealand in the men’s final.

The Canadian men finished 11th after defeating error-prone Australia 22-5 Sunday.

Farella opened the scoring early for Canada against France, taking advantage of a French handling error to boot the ball over the goal-line before touching it down in the first minute.

Yolaine Yengo capped off an eight-pass French attack, touching down in the corner to cut the Canadian lead to 7-5. Yego then found captain Fanny Horta unmarked on the flank for another try and a 10-7 lead. 

Coralie Bertrand increased the lead to 17-7 with a try after Canada fumbled the ball away. But Canada answered quickly with a series of offloads eventually finding Greenshields alone for a try down the wing, cutting the margin to 17-12.

Canada edged the U.S. 15-14 in the women’s Cup quarterfinal before losing 15-5 to New Zealand in the semifinal. France blanked Russia 31-0 but was beaten 24-19 by Australia in its semifinal.

Greenshields’ 11th-minute try proved to be the difference in the win over the Americans, who had beaten Canada twice earlier this season. Benn and Landry also scored for Canada, which led 19-7 at the half.

New Zealand relied on tenacious defence and opportunistic attack in beating Canada in a semifinal that saw Canada dominate possession early but unable to take advantage.

Alena Saili, Kelly Brazier and Niall Williams, whose older brother Sonny Bill Williams is a member of the Toronto Wolfpack, scored tries as New Zealand led 15-0. Farella scored a late consolation try for Canada, which lost 17-14 to New Zealand in the Dubai final. 

The Canadians almost escaped meeting New Zealand in the semifinal. The Black Ferns needed a late try by Ruby Tui to force extra time in their quarterfinal against England at 21-21. Teenager Mahina Paul then crossed the line for the golden-point victory to keep New Zealand in the Cup hunt.

Canada came into Cape Town second overall in the World Series women’s standings after two events.

Pat Kay and Phil Berna scored first half-tries against Australia for Canada, which was helped by a yellow card to Josh Turner late in the half for an infraction at the breakdown. David Richard and Josiah Morra added tries in the second half.

Co-captains Nate Hirayama and Harry Jones did not see action in Canada’s final game.

The Canadian men, who finished 10th in Dubai in their season opener, lost 33-21 to Argentina and 33-5 to New Zealand earlier in the tournament before rallying to beat Wales 17-14 in their final pool match Saturday.

Australia, fifth in Dubai, had a poor showing in South Africa losing to Ireland and Kenya before beating Samoa in its final pool game.

It marked the first time the women have taken part in the Cape Town Sevens, one of six combined men’s and women’s events this year.

The men and women next play in Hamilton, New Zealand, in late January and then Sydney, Australia, in early February.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2019.

The Canadian Press