Alex Russell will captain Canada in the final round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Krakow, Poland, where the Canadian men will look to take a step closer to regaining their spot in the elite HSBC SVNS circuit.
After the April 11-12 event at Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium, the top four Challenger Series teams move on to the HSBC SVNS promotion/relegation playoff May 3-4 in Carson, Calif. There they will face off against the bottom four teams in the HSBC SVNS standings to determine who fills four core team spots in the top tier next season.
The Canadian men were relegated last June in Madrid, beaten 22-14 by Spain. It marked a 29th straight defeat for Canada, which finished the HSBC SVNS season with a 3-36-0 record.
Canada started its climb back in November when it defeated host Trinidad and Tobago 38-0 to win the 2024 Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens and earn a berth in the 2025 Challenger Series.
The Canadian men were runner-up to Chile in the first Challenger Series event and finished third on the second stop, also in Cape Town, South Africa.
Canada and Germany both have 34 points atop the Challenge Series, followed by Portugal (32), Chile (28) and Samoa (26).
鈥淲e certainly are not resting on where we stand in the table and came away from Cape Town with some key areas where we wanted to make significant improvements,鈥� Canada coach Sean White said in a statement. 鈥淎ll that being said, our results over the previous tournaments have put us in a great position where we control our destiny (to get to the promotion/relegation playoff)."
Canada opens play in Poland on April 11 against No. 7 Madagascar before facing No. 6 Japan and No. 3 Portugal.
The Canadian roster for Poland features nine players who competed in the first two rounds, including the team鈥檚 leading try-scorers in Kyle Tremblay (five tries) and Jamie Armstrong and Morgan Di Nardo (four apiece).
Three players will make their international sevens debut.
Rhys James and James Thiel, both members of Rugby Canada's Pacific Pride鈥檚 developmental side, took part in the men鈥檚 invitational tournament held alongside the HSBC SVNS stop in Vancouver in February, while Kainoa Lloyd has already won 24 caps for the men's 15s side.
The Canadian women currently stand fourth in the HSBC SVNS standings after finishing third in Hong Kong, the fifth event of the season. They will play in a pool with the fifth-ranked U.S. and No. 8 Britain this weekend in Singapore.
Canada Roster
Rhys James, Kelowna, B.C., Pacific Pride; James Thiel, Abbotsford, B.C., Pacific Pride; Ethan Turner, Maple Ridge, B.C., Burnaby Lake Rugby Club; Alex Russell, Bracebridge, Ont., McGill University; Brenden Black, Oakville, Ont., Guelph University; Ethan Hager, Brantford, Ont., Castaway Wanderers; Morgan Di Nardo, Toronto, University of Victoria; Jamie Armstrong, Ottawa, University of Ottawa; Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Bayside RFC; Thomas Isherwood, Okotoks, Alta., Westshore RFC; Kainoa Lloyd, Mississauga, Ont., James Bay AA; Elias Hancock, Ottawa, University of Ottawa.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
