Carrying on with their impressive 2014-15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series campaign, the Canadian women have put up another impressive day one at the London Sevens.
Playing at Harlequin FC’s The Stoop, Canada came from behind to beat Russia in their pool B opener and carried on with their high octane attack for the rest of the day, dismissing South Africa 45-0 before overwhelming a surprisingly impotent England 31-0. The Canadians finished the day with the first seed and will have a re-match with Russia in the cup quarterfinals on day two.
It’s a similar story to their previous performance in Langford, when the Canadians went 3-0 on the firsty day of their debut home tournament. But the magic disappeared on day two, as the women lost to England in the cup quarters. They then beat Fiji in impressive fashion in the plate semis before slumping to a plate final loss to the Americans.
Avoiding a repeat will be on the team’s mind heading into day two. The Russians have proved dark horse favourites all season but have proven to have a porous defence at times. Canada was dominant on day one because they kept the ball away from their opponents – especially against England.
With New Zealand suffering their first loss in a donkey’s year – against Spain, no less – the weekend looks wide open. Canada was hopeful of a first-ever tournament win in Langford, will it actually come in London? Seems possible. But effective work on attack and strong defence will tell the story.
