Canadian men win RAN Sevens tournament, qualify for World Rugby Challenger Series

ARIMA — Canada thumped Trinidad and Tobago 38-0 to win the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens on Sunday and qualify for World Rugby's second-tier Challenger Series.

The tournament-favourite Canadian men outscored their opposition 169-0 over five matches in a first step back up the rugby sevens ladder since being relegated from the elite HSBC SVNS circuit in June.

The top four teams from the three-event Challenger Series will face off against the bottom four from the HSBC SVNS at the SVNS World Championships May 3-4 in Carson, Calif., in a promotion/relegation playoff.

"I think it's just about continually building," said Canada captain Elias Hancock. "We know what we're capable of. We've shown it at times. It's just time to get back to that place where we know we belong."

Prior to relegation, Canada had been a core team on the top sevens circuit since 2012-13 and lifted the trophy in Singapore in 2017. The Canadian men finished eighth at the Tokyo Olympics.

Trinidad had plenty of the ball in the first half of Sunday's final at Larry Gomes Stadium. But Canada, helped by several penalties, scored first with Hancock touching down under the posts for a try converted by Thomas Isherwood.

Matt Oworu, beating two defenders, added another converted try for a 14-0 lead at the break.

Cooper Coats added a converted try early in the second half. And Hancock, Jack Shaw and Noah Bain added late tries after Trinidad lost a man to the sin-bin for two minutes midway through the second half for an infraction off a Canadian kickoff.

Earlier Sunday, the Canadians defeated Jamaica 26-0 in semifinal play and the Cayman Islands 38-0 in the quarterfinal. Trinidad and Tobago made it to the final — for the first time since 2013 — with a 19-7 comeback win over Mexico.

Jamaica defeated Mexico 12-0 to finish third.

Weather was a factor during the three-day tournament in Arima, some 30 kilometres east of Port of Spain.

After enduring 30-plus C heat and humidity Friday, their final Pool A game against Barbados was abandoned Saturday due to a storm. On Sunday, the Canadians played the Cayman Islands in a downpour and the skies opened again at halftime of the Jamaica game.

Alex Russell, Josiah Morra, Coats and Hancock scored tries against Jamaica for Canada, which led 12-0 at the break. Thomas Isherwood added three conversions.

Morra and Hancock each scored two tries against the Caymans and Ethan Hager and D'Shawn Bowen added singles for Canada, which led 19-0 at the half. Canada added four conversions.

Canada, which blanked Guyana 29-0 Friday, dispatched Bermuda 38-0 Saturday and was leading Barbados 10-0 when the game was halted in the first half due to heavy rain and high winds. While play eventually resumed, the interrupted Canada game was ruled a scoreless draw.

The Canadian men are coming off a disastrous 3-36-0 HSBC SVNS season that ended with a 22-14 loss to Spain with relegation on the line. It was a 29th straight defeat.

After being relegated, coach Sean White's team fell short in an Olympic repechage tournament in late June in Monaco, finishing fourth after losing 26-0 to eventual winner South Africa in the semifinals. The Blitzboks went on to claim bronze in Paris.

The 13-man roster for the RAN 7s includes six players who were part of the relegation playoff in Madrid: Hancock, Isherwood, Morra, Coats, Oworu and David Richard.

Morra, Coats and Oworu joined the sevens team from Bucharest where they were part of Kingsley Jones' Canadian 15s squad for test matches against Chile and Romania.

The Canadian men are scheduled to play in an invitational men’s sevens tournament taking place at B.C. Place Stadium alongside the HSBC SVNS Vancouver stop in February.

The Canadian women left Sunday for Dubai and the opening stop of the 2005 HSBC SVNS season. The Olympic silver-medallist Canadians open play next Saturday against Japan before facing Brazil and Olympic champion New Zealand.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2024

The Canadian Press