Last Gasp Try costs Canada Gold

Canada suffered last-second heartbreak in Kitakyushu on Sunday as a Michaela Blyde try in stoppage time handed New Zealand victory in the Cup Final at the Kitakyushu 7s. Tries from Jen Kish and Hannah Darling, both converted superbly by captain Ghislaine Landry, gave Canada a two-point lead after Tyla Nathan-Wong couldn’t add the extras on Portia Woodman’s try. The nervy final entered the final minute with Canada in the advantage but an uncharacteristic mistake from Kish handed possession to New Zealand and Blyde slid home in the corner to steal the win for New Zealand.

It was a disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding tournament for the Canadians, who blew past Russia in the Quarter Finals earlier on Day Two and stunned Olympic champions Australia in the Semi Finals with Julia Greenshields contributing a hat-trick. The second place finish leaves them just two points back of Australia for third overall on the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series table with two tournaments to go.

The USA settled for 7th spot in Kitakyushu after dropping their Quarter Final match against Fiji despite a pair of tries from Naya Tapper. A hard contest against England ended in a two-point defeat and knocked them back further, but they managed to end their day on a high with a big win over France. It’s a step down from their 4th place finish in Las Vegas and now leaves them four points shy of Russia in 6th overall.

Brazil could not replicate their Day One form as Ireland returned the favor with a 24-5 win, Beatriz Mulhbauer scoring the only try. Like the Women’s Eagles they pulled up their socks in their last match to scrape by Japan by 12-10, with a second half try from Claudia Teles the difference after Bianca Silva had scored in the first half. Brazil remain in 11th spot overall, three below next up Spain.

The Women’s Series now takes a month off and resumes in Langford, BC, on May 27.

 

 

DAY TWO RESULTS

CUP QUARTER FINALS
Australia 19 – 12 France
Canada 41 – 0 Russia
Fiji 26 – 19 USA
New Zealand 21 – 5 England

TROPHY SEMI FINALS
Brazil 5 – 24 Ireland
Spain 14 – 5 Japan

5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
France 5 – 26 Russia
USA 24 – 26 England

CUP SEMI FINALS
Australia 0 – 33 Canada
Fiji 0 – 21 New Zealand

11th PLACE FINAL
Brazil 12 – 10 Japan

TROPHY FINAL
Ireland 26 – 7 Spain

7th PLACE FINAL
France 14 – 31 USA

5th PLACE FINAL
Russia 31 – 0 England

BRONZE FINAL
Australia 19 – 17 Fiji

CUP FINAL
Canada 14 – 17 New Zealand