CAPE TOWN — Canada defeated Japan 28-15 to finish third Saturday in the second round of World Rugby's HSBC Sevens Challenger Series.
The Canadian men finished runner-up in the first round of the second-tier rugby sevens series last week, going unbeaten en route to a 33-7 loss to Chile in the final, also in Cape Town.
Morgan Di Nardo, Brenden Black, Ethan Turner and Kyle Tremblay scored tries for Canada, which led 21-5 at the break in Saturday's third-place game at Athlone Sports Stadium. Black also kicked two conversions and Turner and Thomas Isherwood added one apiece.
Takemichi Nakano had two tries and Shotaro Tsuoka added another for Japan. Two of the Japanese tries came late in the game with Canada down a man with Kal Sager in the sin-bin.
Canada topped Pool B on Friday with wins over Uganda (38-7) and Tonga (26-24) but fell 24-14 to Pool C winner Germany in Saturday's semifinal. Japan, which defeated Chile and Hong Kong to win Pool B, was beaten 26-14 by Portugal in the other semifinal.
Canada trailed Germany 14-0 and 24-7 before Michael Laplaine-Pereira scored a consolation try with the clock in the red.
Di Nardo scored the other Canada try with Black and Turner booting conversions.
Canada needed extra time to defeat Germany 24-19 last weekend in semifinal play in the opening round. A diving Tremblay scored the deciding try, getting a hand to the ball in the German endzone after a sliding defender failed to get a hand to the ball.
Canada, which finished last in the 12-team elite HSBC SVNS circuit last year, was relegated from the top tier after a 22-14 loss to Spain in June.
The Canadian men are looking to finish in the top four in the three-event Challenger Series. That will earn them a spot in a promotion/relegation tournament May 3-4 in Carson, Calif., where the top four teams from the Challenger Series and the bottom four from the HSBC SVNS will meet to decide four spots in next season's HSBC SVNS field.
After Cape Town, the top eight teams compete in next month's Challenger Series finale in Krakow, Poland.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2025
The Canadian Press
