HONG KONG-
Canada lost a close game to Ireland before edging past Kenya in the Hong Kong Sevens on Saturday, missing out on the Cup quarter-finals in the opening event of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
The Canadians, who lost their opener 36-0 to Argentina on Friday, finished third in Group D on Saturday after losing 19-17 to Ireland and beating Kenya 19-14.
Canada will face Hong Kong on the consolation end of the range.
Ireland, Fiji and France remained undefeated by winning their pools. The Cup quarter-finals are Samoa v Argentina, Olympic champion Fiji v Commonwealth Games gold medalist South Africa, Ireland v defending World Series champion Australia and France v United States.
Fiji are seeking a sixth consecutive title in Hong Kong.
An 11th-minute try from Alex Russell gave Canada a 17-14 lead over Ireland. But Russell was injured on the play and the Irish took the lead two minutes later on a try from Harry McNulty. David Richard and Anton Ngongo also scored tries for Canada.
Phil Berna scored two tries and Lockie Kratz added a single against Kenya, who lost a player early in the competition for a deliberate overhand.
The Hong Kong event has long been the crown jewel of the seven-man circuit with full grandstands and a party atmosphere. But the pandemic put that on hold in 2020 and 21.
In September, Hong Kong eased COVID restrictions on travellers, paving the way for the return of the popular tournament.
Hong Kong marks the start of an 11-stop men’s season that will end on May 20 and 21 in London. This season marks two events in Hong Kong, with the second being a combined men’s and women’s event starting March 31 following the March 3-5 stop in Vancouver. which will feature men and women for the first time.
Canada will be hoping to improve on a disappointing campaign in 2022 which saw a new team, rebuilt after a series of retirements after the Tokyo Olympics, finish 14th overall.
The top four in the 2023 series secure Olympic qualification in 2024. The remaining teams will have to earn their place in Paris via regional qualifiers.
The seven legs of the Women’s World Series will begin on December 2 in Dubai.
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This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 5, 2022
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