Injuries, lack of depth costing Canada in World Rugby Sevens Series
TORONTO — His team down 12-7 at halftime to Argentina at the Sydney Sevens, Canada rugby coach Damian McGrath urged his players to pick up the tempo and stick to the game plan.
“You’ve the quarter-finals in the palm of your hands and in a moment you’re just throwing it away,” he said.
Needing a win to advance to the Cup quarter-finals on the weekend, Canada clawed its way to a 17-17 tie on a Pat Kay try with less than 15 seconds remaining. But the hard-luck Canadians had to settle for the tie after Kay, subbing as kicker for the injured Nate Hirayama, missed the conversion attempt.
Instead of contending in the tournament’s top eight, the Canadian men dropped into consolation play and finished 13th for the third time in four stops on the 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.