LANGFORD, B.C. — Canada had to settle for fifth place at the HSBC Canada Sevens rugby tournament Sunday, consigned to consolation play after squandering a 12-0 lead in the last two minutes to lose 14-12 to France in the Cup quarter-finals.
It marks the second year in a row at the tournament that the Canadian women have gone unbeaten on Day 1 and then fallen in the quarter-finals. Canada finished sixth here last year.
The Canadians went 5-1 on the weekend, didn't concede a point in four of those matches and outscored its opposition 129-19. But they paid dearly for a two-minute quarter-final letdown.
England, beaten 5-0 by Canada in pool play Saturday, defeated New Zealand 31-14 to win its second Cup final — the first was in February 2013 in Houston. Australia downed France 19-12 to finish third.
The Kiwis, runners-up last week in Atlanta, advanced to the final by halting France's impressive run at the tournament in an 12-7 overtime win on Portia Woodman's 108th try. Series leader Australia's bid for a fourth straight title this season ended in a 15-5 semifinal loss to England. It was only the second loss of the season for the Australians, who had won in Dubai, Sao Paulo and Atlanta.
The Canadians, who came into the tournament third in the season standings, rebounded to beat Russia 27-0 and Spain 21-5 to win the consolation Plate but the loss to No. 5 France spoiled a weekend that had started with three shutout wins Saturday.
"We lost the one game, probably played two real bad minutes the whole tournament," said Canadian coach John Tait. "But that's the beauty of sevens. The key moment when you come apart can be your undoing and can be the difference between being in finals and (consolation) Plates and Bowls.
"So we'll take a lot from that. And our defensive structure was really improved from last weekend (in Atlanta). We only conceded three tries the whole tournament and that's pretty good at this level."
As with the men last month in Vancouver, a last-second defeat proved to be Canada's undoing. The men also won five of six games at their home World Series stop but finished ninth after a loss to Wales eventually cost them a shot at the Cup quarter-finals.
In the overall scheme of things, the women's loss to France — while painful — is not an indelible stain. Canada is missing some veteran players through injury and, like most teams on the circuit, is aiming to peak at the Olympic Games in Rio this summer.
But with only five tournaments on the World Series, elite competition is limited. And another poor finish loss on home soil does little to sell the program. Especially when the men's sevens team continues to stumble.
Bianca Farella and Kayla Moleschi scored first-half tries for an early lead against the French. The Canadians survived a yellow card to Britt Benn early in the second half but could not stave off the late surge.
Camille Grassineau scored a converted try with 1:40 remaining and Jessy Tremouliere crossed over with no time on the clock before Shannon Izar made a tough conversion to give the underdog French the victory. It was only the second win for France in 11 World Series meetings with Canada.
"We were up two scores with just over two minutes left and we turned the ball over three times and missed three tackles," Tait said.
Tait also pointed the finger at himself, saying in hindsight he would not have substituted three starters including captain Jen Kish with 2:15 to play.
"You just judge it off the way they were playing (Saturday) when the bench did a good job. Today we just didn't get the same finish from them."
The Canadians had outscored France 200-49 in the 10 previous meetings, although Tait said the French had been playing them tighter in recent times. Earlier this season, Canada beat France 19-0 in Sao Paulo and 17-12 in Atlanta.
The Canadian women finished sixth, second and fourth in the three previous World Series events, posting an 11-7 record en route to Langford.
The series wraps up May 28-29 in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand all went 3-0 on Day 1. Canada defeated Japan 38-0, Ireland 26-0 and England 5-0.
Australia, with three debutantes, and New Zealand, with two newcomers, both brought younger squads to North America. Canada, meanwhile, was missing Ashley Steacy, Elissa Alarie, Magali Harvey and Natasha Watcham-Roy through injury.
Organizers said the tournament drew more than 5,500 over the two days.
All proceeds from sales of the tournament programs went to honour RCMP Const. Sarah Beckett, killed earlier this month near Victoria when a pickup slammed into the driver's side of her police cruiser.
