Hogan-Rochester helps Canada rugby 7 women finish third in season finale

The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 05, 2025 8:32 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Asia Hogan-Rochester scored 3 tries arsenic the Canadian women's rugby sevens squad rallied from an aboriginal shortage Sunday to decision the U.S. 27-7 and gain bronze astatine the HSBC SVNS World Championship.

The Canadians, metallic medallists astatine the Paris Olympics, had besides finished 3rd successful Hong Kong and Singapore, the 2 events preceding the play finale.

Canada finished 4th successful past season's finale successful Madrid successful June, beaten 26-14 by No. 1 New Zealand successful the bronze-medal game.

The Springbok Sevens defeated Spain 19-5 successful the men's last portion New Zealand's Black Ferns — who had already claimed the sevens bid rubric — added to their trophy haul with a 31-7 triumph implicit Australia successful the women's final.

The last lawsuit of the play saw the apical 8 men's and women's sides from the elite HSBC SVNS vie successful the winner-take-all satellite title astatine Dignity Health Sports Park, which volition big rugby sevens astatine the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Canada women, 4th aft the archetypal six events of the season, defeated No. 5 Japan 26-0 and No. 8 Britain 26-17 earlier falling 41-5 to New Zealand successful radical play. The women mislaid 33-7 to Australia earlier Sunday successful semifinal play with Hogan-Rochester accounting for the Canadian points with a converted effort and Faith Nathan scoring 3 tries for Australia.

That acceptable up the third-place crippled against the sixth-ranked U.S., who mislaid 34-9 to New Zealand successful the different semifinal

Sariah Ibarra sliced done the Canada defence for an aboriginal 7-0 U.S. lead. But mediocre subject outgo the Americans with Ibarra sent to the misdeed bin for an infraction soon after, reducing the U.S. to six players for the adjacent 2 minutes.

Canada took advantage, pulling up 10-7 connected tries via Charity Williams and Carissa Norsten with Ibarra disconnected the field. Hogan-Rochester added different effort connected the eve of halftime for a 15-7 Canada lead.

Hogan-Rochester added 2 much tries successful the 2nd half, boosting her vocation full to 39.

There was nary joyousness for the Canadian men, relegated from the apical tier past June. They had hoped to gain their mode backmost into the HSBC SVNS tract via a promotion/relegation tourney held successful conjunction with the World Championship.

Canadian person combat to re-enter apical tier

But World Rugby changed the playing field, announcing connected the eve of the tourney a revamped format to the sevens circuit adjacent season.

Instead of promotion, the champion the Canadian men could bash was marque the caller Division 2 adjacent season, with a accidental to past gain promotion to the revamped eight-team apical tier. And that slipped done their fingers Sunday successful a 24-5 nonaccomplishment to Kenya successful a playoff final.

In the archetypal twelvemonth of an Olympic quadrennial, the Canadian women person improved arsenic the play wore on, with manager Jocelyn Barrieau managing a watercourse of caller endowment portion players rhythm betwixt the sevens and 15s sides.

The Canadian women finished eighth to unfastened the existent play successful Dubai, earlier placing 5th successful Cape Town, 4th successful Perth, seventh successful Vancouver and 3rd successful some Hong Kong and Singapore.

New Zealand won tournaments successful Cape Town, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore, portion Australia triumphed successful Dubai and Perth, Australia.

New Zealand and Australia person gone a combined 11-0-0 against Canada successful dominating the circuit this season.

While the apical 8 teams vied for the satellite championship, teams 9 done 12 successful the HSBC SVNS faced the apical 4 teams from the second-tier Challenger Series — including the Canadian men — successful the playoff bracket.

That was slated to beryllium a promotion/relegation playoff until World Rugby changed the rules.

Now the Canadian men find themselves starting implicit astatine the bottommost again. They volition person to triumph the Rugby Americas North Sevens to marque Division 3, which consists of a standalone Challenger lawsuit with 8 men's and 8 women's teams.

And past they volition person to triumph their mode backmost into Division 2, which volition features six men's and six women's teams competing successful 3 events.

James Thiel scored a consolation try, his archetypal for Canada, against Kenya with clip winding down.

The Canadians finished 2nd successful Group B down Uruguay, beating Ireland 19-12 and Germany 22-17, losing 24-7 to the South Americans.

Uruguay, the U.S., Kenya and Germany volition vie successful the caller Division 2 adjacent season.

Uruguay and the U.S. qualified by virtuousness of winning their pools. The second- and third-place teams successful the 2 groups crossed implicit for playoff games to determine who joined them with Kenya and Germany, which blanked Samoa 31-0, getting the occupation done.