Canada and the USA will meet in the Cup Quarter Finals of the Langford Sevens after the two sides progressed with two wins each on Day One. It’s a relief for both after crashing out during the pool stages in Kitakyushu last month.
It was a difficult start for the tournament hosts as Canada fell 22-7 to to Women’s Sevens Series leaders Australia. The second match against Spain went closer to play with a Charity Williams double contributing to the win. Their last match of the day was a nail-biter against Ireland and again it was Williams who saved the day with a last-gasp try to steal the win.
The USA opened the tournament with a convincing win over Russia but slipped up against France, a last might Jade Le Pesq try handing the Eagles their first loss. Two tries from Naya Tapper led them past Japan in their third match of the day and secured their spot in the Cup draw.
A young Brazilian side went 0-for-3 in their matches but after getting shut out by New Zealand they scored five tries between their next two games. 19-year-old Bianca Silva had one each against Fiji and England while 20-year-old Mariana Nicolau crossed twice against England.
New Zealand, Australia, and France topped their respective pools with unbeaten records. At the other end of the spectrum third-ranked Russia were surprise disappointments, losing all three of their matches allowing Canada and France to gain significant ground on the overall standings.
Play resumes at 9:20am Pacific time on Sunday, 12:20pm Eastern, with the North American face-off taking place at 10:04am Pacific, 1:04pm Eastern. Fans in Canada can watch live on the CBC Sports Website, with fans in the USA able to watch on The Rugby Channel.
DAY ONE RESULTS
POOL A
Fiji 24 – 14 England
New Zealand 51 – 0 Brazil
Fiji 47 – 14 Brazil
New Zealand 22 – 0 England
England 31 – 17 Brazil
New Zealand 12 – 7 Fiji
POOL B
Russia 14 – 35 USA
France 33 – 7 Japan
Russia 7 – 24 Japan
France 22 – 19 USA
USA 28 – 7 Japan
France 45 – 0 Russia
POOL C
Spain 0 – 7 Ireland
Australia 22 – 7 Canada
Spain 10 – 24 Canada
Australia 31 – 19 Ireland
Ireland 17 – 19 Canada
Australia 43 – 10 Spain
DAY TWO FIXTURES
SUN, MAY 13 – 09:20 PT, 12:20 ET – CUP QF – France vs Ireland
SUN, MAY 13 – 09:42 PT, 12:42 ET – CUP QF – Australia vs Fiji
SUN, MAY 13 – 10:04 PT, 13:04 ET – CUP QF – USA vs Canada
SUN, MAY 13 – 10:26 PT, 13:26 ET – CUP QF – New Zealand vs England
SUN, MAY 13 – 10:48 PT, 13:48 ET – TROPHY SF – Japan vs Brazil
SUN, MAY 13 – 11:10 PT, 14:10 ET – TROPHY SF – Spain vs Russia