Canadian men’s rugby walloped at first Sevens Series outing

The Blitzbokke shall now meet the United States of America for a place in the semis after Mike Friday’s squad sensationally overcame New Zealand 12-10 to finish as the Group C runners-up at the expense of France.

The other quarter-finals are Fiji versus Australia, England versus Argentina and New Zealand versus Samoa.

Australia claimed the opening round of the 2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series in Dubai on Friday, beating Russian Federation 33-12 in front of a packed house at 7he Sevens Stadium.

The scoreline flattered England as Fiji had its second Dubai Sevens title in three years secure by halftime, when it led 28-7.

New Zealand stormed into the semifinals with a last-gasp try by Dylan Collier after the hooter had sounded.

Indeed, by half-time NZ were showing some of their old form and led 12-5, but Charlotte Caslick scored for Australia in the second half to get them to 10-12; then Ellia Green scored a signature try in the corner for the Aussies to win 15-12.

“We are all pretty disappointed with ourselves, we only really performed in patches throughout the tournament, even in the big win over United States of America, at the end of Day 1″, said Canadian coach John Tait, referencing Thursday’s 35-5 win over the Americans.

It is unclear if any are in doubt for the second round of he world series in Cape Town next week.

Magali Harvey scored five tries for Canada on the day.

The US stunned the defending champion South Africa 21-19 in the quarter-finals. With virtually no time left, Folau Niua threw a lateral over to Perry Baker, and Baker avoided three tackles to score a try, which tied the game.

The Americans will face South Africa.

Qantas Australian Men’s interim coach Scott Bowen said: “We had a slow start against Kenya and we struggled to get hold of the ball”.

The Pearls are among the favourites as the limited-players discipline prepares for its bow at next summer’s Games and the 26-year-old forward insisted her side were aiming for a gold medal. France beat Scotland 24-14 to win the Bowl title.

In a repeat of the last XV’s World Cup final, several of the same players could be on show in Dubai as the opening event of the Sevens season, as the competition hots up ahead of next summer’s Olympics.