Canada claimed victory in the Men’s bracket at the World Sevens qualifier tournament in Dubai on Sunday, in doing so securing their place in the next stage of the Series that will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, next month. Argentina Women will also advance after finishing in second, with the South Africans taking bragging rights on the Women’s side.
The Canadians overcame a shaky pool stage that saw them lose to Belgium and getting a genuine test from Madagascar. It took a late score from Adam Doane to defeat Hong Kong in the Semi Final. Captain Lockie Kratz led the way in the final, scoring two tries to redeem the earlier loss to the Belgians and close the tournament on a high note.
Argentina came through the pool stage unbeaten with Antonella Reding’s try putting the semi final against the Czechs beyond doubt. The South Africans – coached by former Blitzboks star Cecil Afrika – outclassed all opponents until the Women’s Final. With the scores level, a yellow card to Reding in the 12th minute opened the door for Patience Mokone to score the game-winning try.
The next stage of the second-tier series will see three tournaments played between mid-February and late-March. Nairobi plays host to the first stop on February 14-15, with Montevideo the second on March 21-22 and finally São Paulo on March 28-29. The top four finishers will advance to the World Championship series that begins in Hong Kong in mid-April.
WOMEN’S POOL A RESULTS
Thailand 5 – 32 Czech Republic
South Africa 61 – 0 Mexico
Thailand 45 – 0 Mexico
South Africa 24 – 5 Czech Republic
Czech Republic 54 – 0 Mexico
South Africa 33 – 5 Thailand
WOMEN’S POOL B RESULTS
Colombia 5 – 31 Poland
Argentina 45 – 0 Samoa
Colombia 21 – 14 Samoa
Argentina 22 – 5 Poland
Poland 31 – 5 Samoa
Argentina 14 – 0 Colombia
MEN’S POOL A RESULTS
Tonga 14 – 33 Hong Kong
Samoa 26 – 7 Colombia
Tonga 19 – 12 Colombia
Samoa 31 – 17 Hong Kong
Hong Kong 38 – 10 Colombia
Samoa 34 – 12 Tonga
MEN’S POOL B RESULTS
Madagascar 0 – 24 Belgium
Canada 33 – 7 Italy
Madagascar 31 – 19 Italy
Canada 15 – 19 Belgium
Belgium 14 – 22 Italy
Canada 24 – 17 Madagascar
WOMEN’S 5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Thailand 31 – 10 Samoa
Colombia 26 – 10 Mexico
MEN’S 5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Tonga 26 – 28 Italy
Madagascar 26 – 10 Colombia
WOMEN’S CUP SEMI FINALS
South Africa 36 – 5 Poland
Argentina 22 – 12 Czech Republic
MEN’S CUP SEMI FINALS
Samoa 14 – 26 Belgium
Canada 24 – 19 Hong Kong
WOMEN’S 7th PLACE FINAL
Samoa 29 – 0 Mexico
MEN’s 7th PLACE FINAL
Tonga 21 – 26 Colombia
WOMENS 5th PLACE FINAL
Thailand 0 – 17 Colombia
MEN’s 5th PLACE FINAL
Italy 22 – 31 Madagascar
WOMEN’S BRONZE FINAL
Poland 14 – 24 Czech Republic
MEN’S BRONZE FINAL
Samoa 26 – 5 Hong Kong
WOMEN’S CUP FINAL
South Africa 12 – 5 Argentina
MEN’S CUP FINAL
Belgium 10 – 28 Canada
