Justin Douglas scored his second try of the game with South Africa playing a man short due to a yellow card as Canada used a 26-19 victory to win the bronze medal on Sunday at the HSBC Canada Sevens Rugby tournament.
“With yellow cards you are hoping for at least one score,” said Harry Jones of West Vancouver, who celebrated the win with family and friends. “It’s a crazy game and you have to be switched on every millisecond or else it can go the other way.”
The bronze was Canada’s best finish at the Vancouver tournament since a seventh in 2018 and their best showing in the World Rugby Seven Series since 2018 when the men were fourth in Cape Town and Paris.
WATCH | Canada claims bronze over South Africa:
Watch Canada take on Australia in the bronze medal match at the HSBC World Men’s Rugby Sevens Series from Vancouver. 24:39
It also was Canada’s first win over South Africa in seven years.
New Zealand defeated Australia 17-14 in the gold medal game.
Canada and South Africa were tied 14-14 at the half. Douglas, of Abbotsford, B.C., gave Canada a 21-14 lead, then Jones sealed the win.
Nathan Hirayama of Richmond, B.C., had a try and three converts.
There were some anxious moments as time wound down and South Africa battled to tie the match, but the Canadian defence held.
WATCH | Hirayama proud of the bronze medal win:
Nathan Hirayama reflects on Canada’s 26-19 win over South Africa to claim the bronze medal. 1:21
“It’s all mental at that point,” said Jones. “The bodies are hurting but the crowd did it for us . . . pushed us in the final few minutes to hold on. It was amazing.”
Canada’s previous best finish in a tournament this year was a fifth in Hamilton, New Zealand.
“We’ve been on a path since last August,” said coach Henry Paul. “It’s going in the right direction. We’re still finding out a little bit about ourselves.”
Hirayama said the medal performance will boost the team as it prepares for this summers Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“There’s definitely a belief in the squad,” he said. “I think we’re growing and we’re taking good steps forward, leading toward the summer, which at the end of the day is our biggest goal.”
Heartbreaking semifinal loss to Australia
The bronze medal soothed the wound from a heart-breaking loss in the semifinal.
Canada gave up a pair of tries less than 30 seconds apart, then were denied a last-minute scoring chance in losing 19-14 to Australia.
WATCH | Canada comes up inches short of gold medal final:
Canadian fullback Theo Sauder’s last second try attempt was ruled just short as Canada fell 19-14 to Australia in the Rugby Sevens semifinals in Vancouver. 2:11
With Canada threatening to tie the match in extra time Theo Sauder was tackled at the goal line. An instant replay showed the ball touched down just before crossing the line.
“I wish my arm was one inch longer,” said the Vancouver native.
The Canadian used a 21-0 win over Spain earlier in the day to advance to their first-even semifinal at the Vancouver tournament.
Scrum-half Lucas Hammond had a big game, scoring the game’s first try and making a big defensive play when he knocked a Spanish player to touch at the goal line.
The Toronto native has just returned to the lineup after missing 14 months with a ligament injury in his foot.
“It was a tough year,” he said. “I was always focused on this moment and getting back into it.”
WATCH | Sauder wishes he had longer arms:
Theo Sauder evaluates his team’s loss in the semifinals, the Canadians fell to the Australians 19-14. 1:01
The Canadians won all three of their games during Saturday’s opening day of competition in the 16-team tournament. They started with a convincing 31-21 win over France, needed a couple late tries to upset Fiji 26-21, then pounded Wales 29-7 to finish on top of Pool B.
Both the Canadian men’s and women’s sevens teams have qualified for the Olympics but there are fears the spread of the coronavirus could delay or even postpone the Games.
The upcoming men’s sevens tournaments in London and Paris are scheduled to proceed, but events in Singapore and Hong Kong have been postponed from April to October.
Paul said there are plans for the men’s team to travel to Argentina for a series of games.
The scheduling of the final two tournaments of the season shouldn’t affect selecting the Olympic team roster.
“I don’t think there is too much fiddling around with the squad,” he said. “I’ll have some dilemmas but good dilemmas.”
The Vancouver tournament attracted 74,456 people over two days to BC Place Stadium.
WATCH | The full match between Canada and Spain:
Watch Canada take on Spain in the quarter-finals at the HSBC World Men’s Rugby Sevens Series from Vancouver. 25:27
Spectators came in a variety of colourful and imaginative costumes.
There were simple outfits like loud shirts decorated with pineapples and matching hats or black-and-red lumberjack jackets. Fuzzy onesies, some with hoods, were popular, as were red-and-white suits dotted with maple leaves. Brown sheep sat besides pink furry pigs near pandas. There were a group of Sasquatch wearing Canadian toques and pink flamingos lapping beer.
Flags from all the participating countries waved.
The tournament is being played at the same time other sports events around the world are being cancelled or postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix mentioned the tournament at the Vancouver COVID-19 update the previous day.
“I know people love that event and have been waiting for it to come to Vancouver, but if you’re sick, don’t go,” said Dix, a sports fan who has attended the event in the past. “Watch it on TV.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
