DUBAI — A Canadian comeback fell just short Sunday in a 24-22 loss to Japan in the women's seventh-place game at the Emirates Dubai Sevens.
Trailing 24-10, Savannah Bauder — the U Sports women’s rugby player of the year with UBC in 2023 — scored two late tries but it was not enough for Canada, which also got tries from Carissa Norsten and captain Piper Logan. Asia Hogan-Rochester added a conversion.
The Olympic silver medallist Canadian women dropped into the seventh-place game after being blanked 39-0 by Australia in quarterfinal play earlier Sunday.
The Dubai stop is the first of seven on the 2025 HSBC SVNS season.
Top-seeded Australia downed No. 3 New Zealand 28-24 in the final for its fifth straight Dubai women's title, outscoring the opposition 220-43 in six matches over the weekend. France beat Britain 15-12 to finish third.
Two-time Olympic champion Fiji defeated upstart Spain 19-5 in the men's final to complete its unbeaten run at the Sevens Stadium. It marked the Pacific Islanders' first HSBC SVNS win since 2022.
Fiji was seeded third compared to No. 10 for Spain, which was making its first-ever final appearance on the circuit.
Spain was the surprise men's team of the weekend, defeating New Zealand twice — 26-14 in pool play and 19-14 in the semifinal, after dispatching Britain 19-14 in the quarterfinal.
Fiji downed Spain 21-15 in Pool B play Saturday before dispatching France 19-17 and Argentina 43-21 in the knockout rounds to reach the final.
Argentina defeated New Zealand 14-0 to finish third.
Olympic bronze medallist South Africa had won the previous five Dubai men's titles and seven of the last eight. But the Blitzboks finished sixth this time, beaten 17-15 by France in their final placement game Sunday.
The Canadian men dropped off the elite sevens circuit in June, falling short in a relegation playoff. Now they must win their way back via the second-tier Challenger Series.
The Canada women defeated Brazil but lost to Japan and Olympic champion New Zealand to finish third in Pool C on Saturday, behind New Zealand and Japan, while winless Brazil was fourth.
Helped by other results, the Canadian women advanced to the quarterfinal.
The teams next head to Cape Town for the second event of the season starting Saturday. Following a late-January stop in Perth, Australia, the HSBC SVNS season lands in Vancouver on Feb. 21-23.
The SVNS league winners are declared after the first six events with the top eight men's and women's teams then contesting the SVNS champions title in the final competition of the season May 3-4 in Carson, Calif.
The Canada women finished fifth overall in last season's HSBC SVNS standings. New Zealand topped the table, lifting the trophy in Vancouver and at three other events, while No. 9 Japan and No. 10 Brazil had to survive a relegation playoff to preserve their core status on the circuit.
Olympic champion France is looking to retain its SVNS crown after defeating league winners Argentina to claim the inaugural men's title in 2024.
New Zealand's women are bidding to win back the SVNS Champions title they lost to Australia in 2024.
The Canadian squad in Dubai features four of the players who won silver at the Paris Olympics: Logan, Hogan-Rochester, Norsten and Shalaya Valenzuela.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2024.
The Canadian Press