By Canadian Press

Canadian men and women learn Perth draw as rugby sevens series goes Down Under

Jan 11, 2024 | 9:12 AM

Canada’s men have been drawn in Pool A with Argentina, South Africa and Spain for the Perth Sevens later this month.

The Jan. 26-28 Australian event is the third of eight stops on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, which has been rebranded as the HSBC SVNS this season.

Thursday’s draw was held at HBF Park, which will host the Perth event.

The Canadian women have been drawn with Australia, Britain and South Africa in Pool A. They go to Perth fifth in the overall standings after placing fourth in Cape Town and sixth in the Series-opening stop in Dubai. Britain stands ninth and South Africa 11th.

Australia, which won the first two events, tops the women’s table ahead of France and New Zealand which both made the podium in the opening tournaments.

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France, Fiji, Brazil and Spain make up Pool B on the women’s side while Pool C consists of Olympic champion New Zealand, the U.S., Ireland and Japan.

The Canadian men stand ninth after finishing 12th in Dubai and seventh in Cape Town, where they posted pool wins against New Zealand and Samoa and a final victory over France.

Australia, Ireland, Britain and the U.S. form Pool B on the men’s side while Olympic champion Fiji, reigning Series champion New Zealand, France and Samoa make up Pool C

Argentina, runner-up in Dubai and victor in Cape Town, tops the men’s standings ahead of South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand and Ireland. Spain is 12th.

The slimmed-down sevens circuit features seven regular-season events, each featuring men’s and women’s competition, plus a grand final with promotion and relegation at stake.

Vancouver is the fourth stop of the season, scheduled for Feb. 23-25. The teams then go to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore before wrapping up in Madrid from May 31 to June 2.

The Canadian women finished ninth overall last season with sixth place in both Vancouver and Hong Kong their best showing.

The men’s field has been cut to 12 core teams from 16 to match the women’s setup as well as the Olympic competition.

Canada retained its core team status in dramatic fashion, defeating Kenya 12-7 in the relegation playoff final in May in London thanks to a last-minute try by Alex Russell. The Canadian men were forced into the playoff after finishing 14th in the season standings.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2024

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press