Both Canada and the USA will play in the Cup Quarter Finals of the women’s bracket at the Cape Town Sevens, but neither side would be entirely pleased with their efforts on a difficult Day Two. Brazil were poor against France but showed improvement in their second match of the day against Spain.
The Women’s Eagles were up first though they were comfortable winners, didn’t quite look at their best against England. Alev Kelter, Kristi Kirshe, and Naya Tapper put them into a 21-0 lead before a late reply from Deb Fleming. Emma Tonegato’s late try cost the USA a win in their second match. Scores from Kelter and Lauren Doyle had clawed the Eagles back from a 14-point deficit but the Olympic champions had more left in the tank.
Canada’s experience was near-identical. They exchanged early tries with Spain but three unanswered scores saw the game out for the Maple Leafs. Ghislaine Landry and Bianca Farella eached touched down twice. A sub-par first half against France saw the Canadians down 14-0 at the break. They fought back with two tries of their own through Britt Benn and Charity Williams, but only one conversion landed leaving them two points short.
Las Yaras were absolutely starched by France in their first match, 45-0 the final score. They gave a much better account of themselves in their second match, leading Spain 14-5 at halftime thanks to tries from Thalia Costa and Isadora Cerullo. The second half, however, was a return to their earlier form as Spain touched down four tries to run away with the victory.
The two North American rivals will now go head-to-head in the Cup Quarter Final, with the loser destined for an early shower. Brazil will face Ireland in their final match of the calendar year against Ireland with 11th place going to the winner.
POOL STAGE RESULTS
POOL A
Russia 19 – 38 Fiji
New Zealand 40 – 0 South Africa
Russia 31 – 12 South Africa
New Zealand 12 – 10 Fiji
Fiji 27 – 5 South Africa
New Zealand 12 – 0 Russia
POOL B
France 36 – 12 Spain
Canada 32 – 0 Brazil
France 45 – 0 Brazil
Canada 28 – 7 Spain
Spain 29 – 14 Brazil
Canada 12 – 14 France
POOL C
Australia 32 – 0 England
USA 38 – 0 Ireland
Australia 29 – 0 Ireland
USA 21 – 7 England
England 36 – 7 Ireland
USA 14 – 19 Australia
AMERICAS KNOCKOUT FIXTURES
Sun, Dec 15 – 10:34 local / 03:34 Eastern – Cup Quarter Finals – Canada vs USA
Sun, Dec 15 – 13:11 local / 06:11 Eastern – 11th Place Final – Brazil vs Ireland
COMPLETE FIXTURES LIST HERE