Canada’s men’s sevens team is contesting a World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series semifinals for the first time this season after beating Australia in the quarterfinals of day two of the HSBC World Rugby Tournament on Saturday. Rugby sevens from France to Toulouse.

A 33-7 win over Kenya in the final game of the group stage saw the Canadians finish second in Group A and secure a place in the quarter-finals. On a play from a scrum in the third minute, Thomas Isherwood passed the ball down the short side to Max Stewart, who grounded the ball beyond the goal line. Kenya led for about two minutes after picking up seven points, but Isherwood responded before half-time to level Canada 12-7 at half-time.

The Canadian attack increased in the second half. David Richard scored with a kick and run play, followed by a counterattack by Matt Oworu. Josiah Morra added a final try in the 13th minute. Isherwood (3) and Stewart (1) added conversions for the Reds.

Captain Phil Berna broke through Australia’s defense and scored the opening goal in the quarter-finals after a try from Max Stewart, giving Canada a 7-0 lead at half-time. Australia responded with two tries in the second half, the first requiring video assistance to confirm play. With Australia leading 10-7, Alex Russell delivered a superb performance to reach the 100 career points milestone in the HSBC Rugby Series Sevens of World Rugby with flying colors in the 14th minute to give the Canadians a 12-10 lead. With two minutes of added time, the Canadian defense held off the Australian attack and a massive tackle from Brock Webster ended the game.

On the women’s side, Sabrina Poulin continued to show her speed and skill on day two, scoring Canada’s first try in the final group stage game against New Zealand. The Black Ferns, who officially lifted the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title by beating the United States on Friday, responded confidently to Poulin’s first-minute try (converted by Olivia Apps) and scored four tries en route a 28:7 victory.

The Brazilians were on their way to an upset in the semifinals for ninth place, but a solid second half helped the Canadians to a 26-17 victory. Fancy Bermudez was 12-0 down in the seventh minute, dodging the Brazilian defense with a fake and achieving the 50-point milestone of his HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series career by scoring Canada’s first try of the game. A clean kick from Breanne Nicholas made it 12:7 at half-time.

Poulin extended his one-point streak to four games by breaking through a tackle in the 10th minute and the game was level. Then Piper Logan raced at full speed to the end of the field. Apps, which converted attempts from Poulin and Logan, accepted a pass from Shalaya Valenzuela and scored a goal in added time.

The Canada women’s rugby sevens team will conclude the HSBC France rugby sevens tournament on Sunday, May 14 against Spain in the ninth-place playoff, which begins at 4:50pm ET / 1:50pm PT begins as Canada’s seven-a-side men’s team takes on Argentina Semifinals begin at 7:32 a.m. ET / 4:32 p.m. PT.

World Rugby Sevens HSBC Series matches are broadcast in Canada by the CBC. All tournaments are offered on cbcsports.caon the CBC Sports app and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

For the latest scores, results and fixture schedule, visit the official website at world.rugby/sevens-series.