Sevens hope to shine

GOLD COAST, Australia After a disappointing 10thplace finish in Hong Kong, the Canadian men’s rugby sevens team hopes to turn things around at the Commonwealth Games.

“There’s a lot of belief in this team,” said playmaker Nate Hirayama. “Last year we had a bit of bounce-back season and I think the feel on the team is we can get back to that at any moment. So we’ll trying to find that form.”

The Canadians finished eighth overall on the World Series last season, hoisting the trophy in Singapore for the first Cup win in their 140th event on the circuit.

But this season has been challenging to date.

Last weekend in Hong Kong, Canada lost to eventual runner-up Kenya, Australia and Spain to drop into the consolation Challenge Trophy bracket. The Canadians beat South Korea and Russia before falling to France in the Challenge Trophy final to finish 10th.

Canada was fourth at the Cape Town stop of the World Series, with an impressive victory over Fiji before losing to South Africa in the bronze medal game. But the Canadians were 11th in Dubai, 13th in Sydney, 11th in Hamilton, 10th in Las Vegas and 14th in Vancouver before Hong Kong.

The Canadians currently stand 11th in the overall standings. No. 1 South Africa, No. 2 Fiji, No. 3 New Zealand, No. 5 Australia, No. 7 Kenya, No. 8 England, No. 9 Scotland, No. 12 Samoa, No. 14 Wales, No 16 Papua New Guinea and No. 17 Uganda are also competing at the Gold Coast Games.

Despite recent results, Canada has shown it can beat anyone on the circuit if it puts its game together.