Canadian rugby squads off to undefeated start at New Zealand 7s
Women top Ireland, Spain on opening day; Men take down Irish side, tie with France
Canada captain Ghislaine Landry booted her 300th career conversion in a 24-7 win over Ireland at the HSBC New Zealand Sevens on Friday.
The Canadian star then added two more in a resounding 35-5 victory over Spain.
Britt Benn's fourth-minute try set the stage for Landry's milestone kick.
WATCH | Canada's women's win over Ireland:
The Canadian men also picked up a tournament-opening victory against Ireland after Phil Berna's last-play try clinched a 26-21 win.
Nathan Hirayama, Andrew Coe and Jake Thiel also picked up scores for 12th-ranked Canada.
In a tougher matchup against No. 3 France, the Canadian men played to a 12-12 draw.
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On the women's side, a converted try by Hannah Tyrrell tied it at 7-7 before Kaili Lukan, with the Irish down a player after Louise Galvin was sin-binned for taking out a Canadian without the ball, scored before the break for a 12-7 Canadian lead.
Charity Williams and Lukan added to the Canadian lead with second-half tries. Landry finished with two conversions.
"The end result was good but we'll look to keep getting better," said Landry.
France defeated Spain 31-7 in the opening Pool C match. Canada wraps up group play against No. 5 France on Saturday.
WATCH | Canada's women's win over Spain:
The Canadian women came into the tournament fourth overall in the standings after three events on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. After a disappointing sixth-place finish in the season opener in Colorado, they were runners-up in Dubai and third in Cape Town.
The Irish women were 10th overall.
Late steal helps men take win
The Canadian men arrived on the back of placing 10th in Dubai and 11th in Cape Town.
After a tight opening, Terry Kennedy opened the scoring for Ireland with a swerving run through the Canadian defence for a 7-0 lead. Andrew Coe, back from injury, brought Canada even with Nathan Hirayama adding the conversion.
Jake Thiel capped off a flowing Canadian attack that featured a string of offloads for a 14-7 lead at the break.
WATCH | Canadian men's walk-off try to beat Ireland:
A sloppy opening to the second half opened the way for Foster Horan to cut through the Toronto defence and tied it up at 14-14. The Canadians attacked back but were stymied by handling errors.
The Canadian pressure finally paid off in a Hirayama try on a set piece after an Irish penalty and Canada led 21-14.
WATCH | Canada's men's win over Ireland:
Jordan Conroy booted the ball into the Canadian end after the restart, with the conversion tying it up at 21-12. Things looked bleak for Canada when Isaac Kaay was sin-binned for some a shove following the try.
Up a man, the Irish pressed for the winning try. But veteran Harry Jones pilfered a pass near his own goal-line and Berna eventually finished off the move with a try as the clock wound down.
"Unreal read by Harry," Hirayama said of the steal.
The win raised Canada's all-time record to 5-2-0 against Ireland, a new core team on the circuit. The Canadian men play No. 3 France later in the day.
WATCH | Canada's men's tie with France:
Team Canada full pool schedule
Women
- Friday, Jan. 21: Canada 24, Ireland 7
- Friday, Jan. 21: Canada 35, Spain 5
- Saturday, Jan. 22: Canada vs. France (3:07 p.m. ET)
Men
- Friday, Jan. 21: Canada 26, Ireland 21
- Friday, Jan. 21: Canada 12, France 12
- Saturday, Jan. 22: Canada vs. Spain (5:07 p.m. ET)
With files from The Canadian Press