VANCOUVER — New Zealand beat South Africa 19-14 in the final of the inaugural Canada Sevens rugby tournament Sunday, reducing Fiji's overall lead in the World Series to a single point after six of 10 rounds.
South Africa scored first through Rosko Speckman but New Zealand struck back with tries to Sam Dickson and Kurt Baker to lead 14-7 at halftime.
Lewis Ormond scored New Zealand's only try in the second half to extend the lead to 19-7 before Seabelo Senatla scored a late consolation try for South Africa.
Sunday's win gave New Zealand its third title of the season after victories in its home tournament at Wellington and also Sydney.
CANADIAN MEN FINISH NINTH BUT STILL MAKE BIG MARK AT CANADA SEVENS RUGBY EVENT
VANCOUVER — New Zealand celebrated with two renditions of the Haka after winning all six of its games at the inaugural HSBC Canada Sevens, its third title in six stops on the world circuit this season.
Canada won five of six games and finished ninth Sunday, hoisting the consolation Bowl trophy instead of the celebrated Cup. Its only blemish was Saturday's loss to Wales on a try scored with no time remaining.
Rugby sevens can be a cruel game.
The home side made its mark at B.C. Place Stadium, refusing to quit in a series of thrilling last-ditch wins. But ironically Canada exits the tournament in 13th spot in the overall standings, one rung below where it started the weekend.
"I can't criticize our performances," said Canadian coach Liam Middleton. "We were very consistent. The Brazil game we were a little bit flatter (Sunday) morning but we'd had thrown everything into (Saturday). Mentally, physically, emotionally, we threw everything into it and got a disappointment at not making the Cup (quarter-finals).
"But you win five of six games in any World Series tournament, it's an exceptional achievement."
New Zealand defeated South Africa 19-14 in the Cup final, adding to the titles it won earlier this season in Wellington and Sydney.
Delighted organizers said 60,418 fans took in the tournament over two days. Spectators got their money's worth with 45 games over the weekend. There were 942 points scored Saturday alone.
Sunday produced another festive crowd, with many in costume.
After edging France 19-17 on a John Moonlight try and Nathan Hirayama conversion with no time remaining in the Bowl final, the Canadians celebrated in front of those fans.
"There may not have been as many people here as there are maybe some other places but 30,000 people cheering for Canada, that's something special that you don't get every often in your life," said Canada's Conor Trainor.
Mike Fuailefau wore a lei when he met reporters. Adam Zaruba was cloaked in a Canadian flag. Nathan Hirayama had a Maple Leaf knotted around his neck.
Harry Jones wore a pair of black eyes, thanks to a busted beak that was broken the previous day.
Canada's opening game Saturday, a 26-19 loss to Wales, proved to be its undoing.
The Canadians bounced back to upset Australia 14-12, which left them needing to beat Russia by 30 points in their final pool match to qualify for the Cup quarter-finals. Canada beat Russia but the 29-12 score was not enough to avoid the consolation bracket.
Hirayama led the Canadian attack with five tries Sunday on a day that also saw 19-0 and 17-7 wins over Brazil and England, respectively. He finished tied for fourth in tournament scoring with six tries.
Rubbing salt in the wound, Wales finished seventh and moved past Canada into 12th spot in the overall standings.
And Samoa, which will challenge Canada in a last-ditch Olympic qualifying tournament in June, showed its teeth by finishing fifth in Vancouver.
Down 17-12 in the Bowl final, the Canadians profited when 18-year-old French player Theo Millet elected to keep playing rather than kick the ball into touch with no time remaining to end the game. The French were subsequently penalized near their goal-line and Canada scored.
"It's his first tournament," veteran French player Julien Candelon said of his young teammate. "We all make some errors in our career. It's his first — it's not a problem. He is here to learn."
The same thing happened against Chile at the Pan American Games, allowing Canada back into the game — and keeping it on course for the gold medal.
Coming into the home tournament, Canada had finished 13th, 11th, 11th, ninth and 14th on the five previous stops on the circuit. It has now missed out on the Cup quarter-finals twice on tiebreakers.
Middleton hopes the five-win performance will kickstart Canada the rest of the season and at the Olympic qualifier.
New Zealand, with a seemingly endless supply of strike runners on its roster, dispatched Australia 28-19 to reach the Cup final. Fiji ran out of comebacks in a 31-19 loss to South Africa in the other semifinal, much to the disappointment of a sizable number of Fiji supporters at B.C. Place stadium.
Australia defeated Fiji 19-12 to finish third. Samoa beat the U.S. 31-19 to win the Plate final and finish fifth while Russia downed Portugal 17-10 to take the Shield final and finish 13th.
Fiji remains atop the season standings with 106 points but the race is tightening with South Africa second (105 points) and New Zealand third (104).
Fiji was on the tournament's mind because of last month's Cyclone Winston, a Category 5 storm which was Fiji's worst-recorded cyclone. It left more than 40 dead in its wake. Two dollars from the sale of every tournament program went to Fiji cyclone relief efforts, with the B.C. government adding $100,000 of its own.
The Canadian team resumes play on the World Series next month in Hong Kong.
RUGBY COMMUNITY CELEBRATES PERFORMANCE ON AND OFF THE FIELD AT CANADA SEVENS
VANCOUVER — French rugby player Julien Candelon came to Canada understanding that hockey is king in this country.
But after playing in the inaugural HSBC Canada Sevens tournament before a passionate crowd at B.C. Place Stadium, he leaves knowing that rugby has a place in Canadian hearts as well.
"We discovered this stadium. The atmosphere is really incredible," Candelon said Sunday after scoring his 100th career try in France's 19-17 Bowl final loss to Canada at B.C. Place Stadium.
"People support every team. And it's very good for us because you don't think you're in a foreign country because everybody supports you."
The 35-year-old Candelon got to see both sports in action, taking in a Canucks game before taking the field with the French.
American speedster Perry Baker was equally complimentary about his Canadian rugby experience.
"I love the atmosphere here. The fans were into it. They came to watch rugby and they enjoyed it," he said. "It was really good. I had an amazing time here."
World Rugby and local tournament organizers were also ecstatic after seeing 60,418 fans take in the tournament over two days. That set a record for the biggest crowd to watch rugby in Canada.
The tournament sold out the 28,000 lower bowl, with organizers putting a total of 10,000 upper bowl tickets on sale as a result.
"It is mind-blowing," said Rugby Canada's new CEO Allen Vansen. "What an amazing response from the city of Vancouver and the fans who came out all dressed up, so engaged in this sport. ... It's been special."
Rugby sevens is like attending a sporting party. With 45 games over two days, it's a smorgasbord of the sport. Fans in costume add to the entertainment factor.
"The atmosphere here has been absolutely fantastic," said Canadian forward Adam Zaruba. "We love the support. There's nothing like it, honestly, to see a sea of red out there in our home town. It's fantastic."
The fans witnessed 272 tries and 1,694 points scored over the two days. They also saw speed merchants like Baker and New Zealand's Gillies Kaka, perhaps the fastest man-bun in cleats, turn on the afterburners while human battering rams like the six-foot-five 265-pound Zaruba and hard-nosed American Danny Barrett ran over would-be tacklers.
The Fijians delighted with their Harlem Globetrotter-like handling skills, holding onto the ball with one hand as they fended off an opponent or flew down the field.
With the sport about to debut in the Olympics, fans also got to see crossover test rugby stars Bryan Habana of South Africa, Liam Messam of New Zealand and Quade Cooper of Australia in action.
The crowd showed its class by clapping every team off the field, be it tournament winner New Zealand or fledgling Brazil.
Mark Egan, World Rugby's head of competition and performance, said reaction to the Canadian tournament has been "very positive."
"When I came here and saw this venue four years ago ... my first impression was we have to be here," said Egan. "Rugby Canada deserved to have a big World Rugby event and this is the one they've been looking for for many years. It's great to see it so successful in its first year."
Credit the Women's World Cup of soccer for a helping hand. It prompted new artificial turf at B.C. Place, which met World Rugby standards. The turf compared favourably to that used at the previous stop in La Vegas, which caused some abrasions to the players.
There is talk of opening up the entire stadium next year, as well as importing the women's sevens event currently held in the Victoria area to Vancouver and making the Canada Sevens a combined three-day event.
On the list of things to do is improve stadium concessions. There were long lineups for beer with vendors perhaps not understanding the ebb and flow of demand during a day with 20-plus matches, not one.
"It's a typical problem of a first-year event," said Egan. "We had the same issue in Cape Town in December."
Judging from Saturday's crowd, many fans still got to drink their fill.
Canadian organizers have the event for at least the next three more years and hope to make it a fixture on the calendar. The event is expected to make a profit on its $7.5-million budget straight out of the box.
In addition to helping fund the sport, Rugby Canada hopes the event will serve as a showcase for rugby — attracting fans and players. They will get another shot in June when B.C. place hosts a first ever test match between Canada and Japan.
The week was filled with rugby with the accompanying Vancouver Rugby Festival showcasing women in conjunction with provincial under-18 and university championships.
On the field, the Canadian men deserved better than ninth after winning five of six games. But they shot themselves in the foot with an opening loss to Wales on a try with no time remaining on the clock. Needing to beat Russia by 30 points in its final pool game to make the elite Cup quarter-finals, Canada won but fell short of the required target in a 29-12 victory and was consigned to the consolation bracket.
"I thought we played good enough to be a top-four side and we believe we're a top-four side," said coach Liam Middeton.
