Canada rugby women finish sixth in Dubai

Australia were forced to play the cup final with only 10 players available with forwards Williams (knee) and Chloe Dalton (arm) ruled out. Both will undergo further assessment next week upon their return to Sydney.

Canada finished last in Pool A and will play Wales in the consolation Bowl quarter-final Saturday.

“An extremely happy @ZTesty5 on @USARugby’s stunning last second win over @nz7s to secure a Cup quarter final spot”, captain Zack Test said on Twitter.

New Zealand stormed ahead as Gillies Kaka crashed over on the right for his 50th try in the World Sevens Series. “We know that a lot of teams are gunning for us and for the series”.

Teams in Rio are likely to comprise a blend of dedicated sevens specialists and big-name stars of the longer format of the game.

Speaking after the final whistle, victorious Australia captain Shannon Parry said: “That was an epic final and to play in front of such a crowd in Dubai was absolutely sensational”.

Fiji certainly raised the standards in their title-winning season – they scored more tries on average than any other team at 4.5 tries per match, or one every 44 seconds of possession.

This is why we have many players from the 15-a-side game interested in the Sevens game this time.

Mulhall broke through the Canadian defence to finish and convert her own try in the first half, but the Canadians struck back nearly immediately when Jen Kish strode clear after an offload from the lethal Magali Harvey, making it 7-7 at the break.

“We haven’t fully revealed our hand as yet. They’re my major opposition – the boys in white and, if we hit the ground running, we’re not going to lose tomorrow”.

The US clinched the 2014/2015 season-ending London Sevens title in May, beating South Africa, England and Australia in the process.

Will Holder scored twice, and tries from Folau Niua, Kevin Swiryn and Perry Baker put the icing on the cake for Mike Friday.

Fiji’s aforementioned, dominant win over the Argentinians saw them top their group and they will now face Australia, whose 21-5 reverse to England saw their triumphant opponents head off on a path towards the Pumas instead.

In Dubai they proved that was no fluke with a rollercoaster struggle through Pool C.