Canadian men finish tied for seventh after Samoa loss at New Zealand Sevens
HAMILTON, New Zealand — Canada finished seventh at the New Zealand Sevens on Sunday after its second-half comeback fell short in a 28-19 loss to Samoa.
It marked Canada’s best finish of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series season, moving the Canadian men up one spot to 11th place in the overall standings.
Fiji routed the United States 38-0 in the final for back-to-back victories in the World Series. New Zealand won the first tournament at Dubai, but Fiji took the second at Cape Town and the third in Hamilton. The U.S. has been runner-up at all three stops.
The American success this season is good news for Canada, given the top four finishers at the end of the season secure automatic qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The remaining teams will fight it out in regional qualifiers and a last-chance repechage.