Canadians set personal bests at Cape Town
It’s nothing personal. Oh wait, it was just that for Canada in rugby Saturday.
Individual milestones, more than team achievements, highlighted pool play as the Canadian men’s sevens team went 1-2 at the South Africa Sevens in Cape Town.
Canada lost 29-15 to Australia and 21-14 to Scotland before beating Wales 28-7 as captain and former University of Victoria Vikes great Nathan Hirayama kicked four converts to become only the fourth player in history from any nation to surpass the career 1,500-points-scored plateau on the World Series.
Justin Douglas of Abbotsford, meanwhile, scored his 126th career World Series try to break the Canadian record held by former UVic Vikes star Sean Duke.
“It’s pretty surreal to have my name up there with the likes of Duke, Nate [Hirayama], [John and David Moonlight] and Philly [Victoria great Phil Mack],” said Douglas, in a tweet.
It continues a year of career breakthroughs for the Langfordbased Canadian men’s and women’s teams. Ghislaine Landry, current captain of the 2016 Rio Olympic bronze-medallist women’s team, last month became the first female player to surpass 1,000 points scored in the World Series.
Meanwhile, Canada meets Zimbabwe today in the Challenge Trophy quarter-finals on the consolation side of the draw in the men’s World Series tournament in Cape Town.
Connor Braid of Victoria had two tries for Canada in pool play Saturday while Pat Kay of Duncan scored a try against Scotland.
On the Canadian roster in Cape Town are Braid, Kay, Hirayama, Douglas, Luke McCloskey of Victoria, Isaac Kaay of the UVic Vikes, Admir Cejvanovic of Burnaby Lake, Jake Thiel of Abbotsford, Adam Zaruba of North Vancouver, Andrew Coe and Josiah Morra of Toronto and Matt Mullins of Belleville, Ont., and Cooper Coats of Halifax.
Canada placed 11th in the first World Series tournament of the season last weekend in Dubai. The top-four teams after the World Series season will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
The Canadian men are trying to overcome the loss of eight preseason training weeks at Westhills Stadium while 13 of the players boycotted camp in protest of proposed new funding and training systems installed by Rugby Canada. The players proceeded with the season under an agreement reached Nov 1.
That’s why head coach Damian McGrath selected a veteran group for the Dubai and Cape Town World season openers in the 10-event series.
“If we are lacking a bit in conditioning, we have the cohesion that comes with knowing each other so well,” said Braid, a product of Oak Bay High and James Bay Athletic Association, before the team departed Langford.
The host South African Blitzboks, the 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medallists, are wearing special jerseys this weekend to commemorate the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Hirayama took part in the captain’s picture, which was held on Robben Island, where Mandela was incarcerated and which is now a World Heritage Site.
The Canadian women’s team, meanwhile, is in second place in the table after podium finishes in their first two World Series events in Denver and Dubai. The top-four teams at the end of the six-tournament season will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
There is no women’s World Series event in Cape Town. The next event is the Sydney Seven in Australia from Feb. 1-3.
Both World Series will again feature Canada Sevens tournaments, with the men’s March 9-10 at B.C. Place and the women’s May 11-12 at Westhills Stadium.
The men’s Canada Sevens has become one of B.C.’s most cacophonous and colourful sporting events and annually sells out the lower bowl of B.C. Place. The women’s Canada Cup next spring will be played at a revamped 6,000-seat Westhills Stadium in Langford.
SCRUM NOTES: Team tomorrow will be on display today. The reigning B.C. U-19 champion Castaway Wanderers, coached by former CW stars Spencer and Roger Robinson, will look to retain their title this afternoon in the provincial final at 2 p.m. at Macdonald Park against UBCOB of Vancouver.
“This CW group of young athletes plays fast and physical rugby, with the lowest pointsagainst total in league play, and many young players heading toward the Canadian national team,” said CW manager Brent Johnston.