New Zealand beat Argentina 19-17 on Sunday to win the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens and become the first men’s team to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The news wasn’t so good for the Canadian men, who finished 14th and face relegation with two races to go in Toulouse, France and London.
The top four teams at the end of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series automatically qualify for the Olympics. After Singapore, the All Blacks lead the table with 24 points, unable to drop out of the top four.
“Qualifying for Paris means everything to us,” said New Zealand coach Clark Clyde Law. “The first thing this year is qualifying for the Olympics. Everyone is talking about it but you have to be there to break through, so we are very happy that we managed to do that and win another final. Now we look ahead to France And London, trying to win the World Series.”
Brady Rush scored a win against second-placed Argentina as New Zealand won the cup in Singapore for the first time since 2005.
New Zealand has finished on the podium in seven of its nine races this season and has won four of its last five.
Third-ranked Fiji rebounded from a 19-7 deficit to beat sixth-ranked Samoa 24-19 in the bronze medal match. Samoa have lost their 10th consecutive match for third place on the track, having beaten Fiji 28-7 earlier in their Group B match.
France are currently fourth in the overall standings, 10 points ahead of Australia and 11 ahead of Samoa. Australia beat 10th-placed Great Britain 24-21 in their fifth-placed match.
The Canadian men, who fell into the consolation group after finishing third in Group B, had another tough weekend.
Despite three tries from Josiah Morra, they were 2-4-0, losing 22-17 to eighth-ranked USA and 13th in the playoffs. .
After beating Spain (21-7) and losing to Fiji (21-12) and Samoa (39-7) on Saturday, Canada lost 28-14 from a team led by former Canadian coach Damian McGrath. 13th-ranked Kenya bounce back in the game before losing to the United States to send invitee Hong Kong (26-5)
The World Series will cut the men’s team from 16 to 12 next season to match the size of the women’s team and align with the Olympic game structure.
The 15th-placed team after Toulouse in the 10th round will be relegated.
The nations finishing 12th, 13th and 14th in Toulouse will advance to a four-team relegation play-off with the winners of the 2023 Challenger Series in London in the 11th and final round.
Only the playoff winner will retain the core of the 2024 series.
The Canadians were unable to collect enough points in Toulouse to escape the relegation zone and travel to France with just eight points ahead of 15th-placed Japan.
Max Stewart and captain Phil Berna scored for Canada against Kenya.
Stewart, Berna, Matt Oworu and Will Percillier’s attempt led Canada past Hong Kong.
On the women’s side, New Zealand, the United States and Australia have already qualified for the Olympics.
The men’s and women’s teams will resume in France from May 12-14, with Canada’s men’s team playing in Group A alongside top-ranked New Zealand, 11th-ranked Uruguay and 13th-ranked Kenya.
The eighth-ranked Canadian women will play Group A in Toulouse, their final match of a seven-session season, against series leaders New Zealand, third-ranked United States and invitational Poland.
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