Canada drops opening games at men's Sevens World Series in Las Vegas
Canucks conclude pool play against Wales on Saturday at 4:48 p.m. ET
Canada went winless in Pool B action at the HSBC Sevens World Series event in Las Vegas, Nev. on Friday.
The 11th-seeded Canadians dropped a hard fought battle 19-12 to the top-seeded South African squad.
After going down 14-0 early, the Canucks began to rally just before halftime as CFLer Tevaughn Campbell scored his second career try to get things going.
Canada carried that momentum into the early part of the second half as John Moonlight's try brought the Canadians within two.
But a minute later, a costly missed tackle from Campbell allowed South Africa's Dylan Sage to score another try, which was all they needed to hold off Canada's late charge.
Earlier in the evening, Canada fell 40-12 to sixth-seeded England.
The Canucks showed some fight early, with all-time leading scorer Nathan Hirayama and captain Harry Jones each scoring a try, as they trailed 14-12.
But that's as close as the Canadians would get.
A late first half try from England's Richard de Carpentier was the beginning of 26 unanswered points as the Canadians had no response and were held scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Canada concludes pool play against 13th-ranked Wales on Saturday at 4:48 p.m. ET.
All matches can be streamed live on CBCSports.ca.on