Canadian women’s, men’s rugby 7s teams perfect on 1st day of Olympic qualifiers

Canada’s women sevens rugby squad moved into Sunday’s semifinal, and the men set a path to get there, as both teams won all their games Saturday at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Olympic qualifying tournament in Langford, B.C.

The Canadian women crushed Mexico 82-0, to punctuate lopsided victories over St. Lucia (59-0) and Jamaica (53-0), and outscored their opponents by a combined 194-0, in front of 3,352 mostly Canada-supporting fans.

“We don’t just want to look at the score line,” said women’s coach Jack Hanratty following the win over Jamaica. “We want to look at every moment of the game to see where we can do better, we want to look at every moment in the game.”

They certainly did that, scoring pretty much at will against a Mexican squad that infrequently had possession of the ball inside or outside its own end.

But this wasn’t a matter of trying to drive up the score, Hanratty said. More so, it was a matter of chasing a perfect performance.

WATCH: Come inside the huddle with Canada’s women’s 7s: 

Come inside the huddle with Canada’s women’s Rugby 7s team

Coach Jack Hanratty talks to his squad after a hard-fought loss to team Australia.

“There is a big element of the unknown for us, so for us, we’re trying to concentrate on ourselves,” he said.

The men won both their games, but not as convincingly, and will need a victory Sunday over St. Lucia to advance to the semifinals.

CBC Sports has full coverage throughout the weekend.

After battering Barbados 38-0 in their opening match, the Canadians found themselves tied with a pesky Jamaican squad that trailed by only two with 2:13 remaining in the second of two seven-minute halves.

WATCH | Canadian men top Barbados: 

Rugby Americas North Sevens Langford: Men – Canada vs. Barbados

Watch the Canadian men host Barbados in a Paris 2024 Olympic qualification event at the Rugby Americas North Sevens in Langford, B.C.

Brock Webster’s late try secured Canada a 21-12 victory.

“Yes, it was a lot closer than what we were looking for, but hats off to Jamaica, they put an incredible performance together,” said Alex Russell, who did most of the legwork on Webster’s late insurance run down the wing.

The Canadian men were hoping to build some momentum following their win against Barbados, in full knowledge they’ll have to beat the U.S. to win the tournament and guarantee an invitation to Paris.

“I think we were just trying to be a little too cute with the ball,” captain Phil Berna said.

St. Vincent & The Grenadines pulled out of the tournament late last week, forcing some schedule juggling that reshaped the women’s afternoon into a round-robin, with Jamaica, St. Lucia and Mexico joining Canada.

The Canadian women won’t have to contend with the powerful U.S. team that is already Paris-bound, after its top-four finish in this season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

WATCH: Nations combine to grow women’s game: 

Playing at home, Canadian rugby looking to punch ticket to Paris

Canada’s men’s and women’s rugby teams are attempting to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, on home soil.

Canada’s No, 14-ranked men, however, will have to get past the 10th-ranked U.S., which took a step toward booking a ticket in Sunday’s semifinal with lopsided (62-0 and 40-0) victories over Bermuda and Mexico, respectively.

The last teams standing Sunday qualify for next summer’s Paris Games.

WATCH: The comforts of home at Starlight Stadium: 

Behind its brutality, growing the game of rugby paramount to the sports’ women

Canada’s women’s rugby players are dedicated to leaving the sport stronger than it was before, and are working hard at making that happen.