Undefeated in the preliminary phase, the Canadian rugby sevens players had the difficult task of facing the New Zealanders in the quarter-finals on Saturday at the Hong Kong World Series stage. And for the fifth time this season, the Olympic champions had the upper hand by winning 26-5 against Sabrina Poulin, Pamphinette Buisa and their teammates.
The Canadians shone in Group C and wanted to maintain this pace in the quarter-finals. They had just taken their revenge on the Americans, against whom they had lost twice in Los Angeles. In the last minute of play, Sabrina Poulin recovered a ball near the opposing end zone and passed it to Fancy Bermudez while diving, who gave Canada the victory by a count of 12-5.
“We wanted to finish the round strong and we wanted to show that we were superior,” Poulin told Sportcom. We offered a great collective performance with tests where we used everyone. It was fun to finish at the top of our group. »
Once they reached the quarter-finals, the Canadians were aiming for a first victory against the representatives of New Zealand this year. Tough opponents who won the gold medal in the last two stages of the circuit.
“As soon as we make mistakes, they know how to take advantage of them,” recalled the athlete from Beauce to Sportcom. We had just finished top of our group for the first time this season, so we wanted to approach this match with the idea of continuing with firsts, beating them for the first time. »
New Zealand, however, took control early in the match. She opened the scoring in the second minute of play and had a 21-0 lead at the half.
“We had trouble keeping the ball on our side and we were beaten in the air, on the receiving end of kicks, where we had difficulty getting the ball. In the end, it cost us the match,” said Poulin, who entered the field in the 12the minute.
British Columbian Shalaya Valenzuela scored the only Canadian try, but the New Zealanders responded less than a minute later. The latter will face the Australians in the semi-final.
Canada will face Fiji for fifth place. A team that the Canadian team knows well, having faced it in training, in preparation for the Hong Kong tournament.
“We haven’t played against them often this season, but we know their style of play. They will want to keep the ball alive and they are strong in contact. We know what we have to do,” concluded Poulin.