Canada stuns Australia as rugby sevens fever hits Vancouver

Feature photo: Adam Zarbua evades a tackle against Australia.

A last second try from Adam Zaruba and a Nathan Hirayama conversion gave Canada a surprise 14-12 win over Australia at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Vancouver.

In the Canadian debut of the annual international series at BC Place on Saturday, Canada was disappointed in the opening match losing 26-19 to Wales. Then came redemption:

 

Although the victory over the Wallabies was sweet, Canada couldn’t fully enjoy the opening day as a 29-12 win over Russia in its third match left the host nation 12 points shy of advancing to the quarterfinals. Top two teams in each pool goes through to the top eight and Canada finished behind Australia and Wales on point difference despite having identical win-loss (2-1) records.

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Wales advances largely on the strength of a 52-0 win over Russia, which lost all three of its matches.

On Sunday, Canada will play for the bowl (the significance of which is explained here), giving home fans a chance to see their team off on a good note on Canadian ground.

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