RUGBY SEVENS: The Qantas Women’s Sevens’ undefeated run at the Hong Kong Sevens came to an end following a 29-0 defeat to Canada in the Cup final on Friday.

Playing at Hong Kong Stadium on Friday night, the Australian women were outmatched by the Canadians, who ran in five tries and defended fiercely to deny the Australians.

Qantas Women’s Sevens coach Chris Lane said while he was disappointed with the result, it was another experience-building opportunity.

“I’m not happy with the result but there are positives to take out of it,” Lane said.

“This was always the warm up for the next round of the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series and at the end of the day we’ve got a healthy team that’s better for the experience.”

Lane said his team was dominated physically by the Canadians, who denied his side possession to control the contest.

“Canada were just too good, they were too physical and it was their day,” Lane said.

“We just couldn’t get our hands on the ball, they dominated the contact zone and scored tries.

“We’ll pick ourselves up. I was happy with the girls to get to the final and this is a lesson for us. This is a lesson for next week and a lesson for the World Cup in June. We know what we have to work on.”

The Australians found themselves chasing a 19-0 deficit at half time after Canada ran in three tries to none in the opening stanza. A further two tries in the second half sealed the win for the North Americans.

The Qantas Women’s Sevens had an undefeated run to the Cup final in the one day non-IRB sanctioned event, with wins over an International Select side, Kazakhstan and Netherlands.

The Australian women had a comfortable run through pool play, beating International Select 42-0 in their opening match before defeating Kazakhstan 19-12.

Debutants Tiana Penitani (2) and Brooke Anderson notched their first tries for Australia against International Select, along with Ellia Green, Iliseva Batibasaga and Cobie-Jane Morgan.

Morgan added six conversions in their first pool match.

Captain Rebecca Tavo announced her return to international Sevens with a try against Kazakhstan, along with Green and Nicki Etheridge. Morgan added two conversions.

They then met Netherlands in the Cup semifinal, with solid defensive pressure forcing errors from the Dutch women and earning the Australians a 17-5 win to send them to the Cup final.

Australia’s tries were scored by Shontelle Stowers (2) and Morgan, who added a single conversion.

Also in Australian Sevens news, the Qantas Men’s Sevens lost their first pool match of the HSBC Sevens World Series event in Hong Kong 19-14 to Wales. Australia’s Lewis Holland scored both his side’s tries, with James Stannard kicking both conversions.

Men's results:

The Qantas Men’s Sevens were ousted from the Hong Kong Sevens following a 12-5 loss to Samoa in the Plate semifinal on Sunday.

The Australians entered the final day having finished second in their pool, but an early 29-5 loss to Fiji in the Cup quarter final sent them to the Plate playoffs.

Qantas Men’s Sevens coach Michael O’Connor was disappointed in his side’s performance on the final day of the tournament, having done so well to make it the Cup playoffs.

“I don’t think we played our best football,” O’Connor said.

“There were glimpses of it yesterday, but we’ve got some work to do.”

The Australians encountered a primed Fijian team in the Cup quarter-final, as they found themselves faced with a 17-0 deficit at half time. Cam Clark opened the scoring in the second half to score the only points for his team, as the Fijians ran in a further two tries.

“We didn’t get our hands on the ball against Fiji,” O’Connor said.

“They tired us out, that was a comprehensive loss.”

Following their loss to Fiji the Australians moved to the Plate playoffs against Samoa, where they chased a 7-5 deficit at halftime. Australia’s only try was scored by Con Foley as they were kept scoreless in the second half and Samoa added a second try to seal the win.

“We had a chance to win against the Samoans, but decision making let us down in the end,” O’Connor said.

The Qantas Men’s Sevens played the final day without the services of Shannon Walker, who received an injury earlier in the tournament and will be assessed Monday.

Day one saw the Australians lose to Wales, but they bounced back on day two to defeat South Africa and Argentina to finish second in their pool.

The Australians were down 12-0 at half time against the Welsh, but Lewis Holland scored twice for his side to close the gap. Freshly returned Australian international James Stannard, playing in his first tournament since 2010, added the extras on both occasions for Australia to take a 14-12 lead. A late try saw the Welsh steal the win.

Day two saw the Australians in much better form, opening with a 21-12 win over South Africa. Australia took a 7-5 lead at half time following a try and conversion to Stannard. Shannon Walker added a double in the second half to give Australia a comfortable lead, with Stannard adding both extras.

They went on to win 12-5 over Argentina, with Holland and Stannard again combining with try and conversion in the first half to give their side a 7-5 lead at half time. Walker scored the only try of the second half to give Australia the win.

The Qantas Men’s Sevens now travel to Japan for the Tokyo Sevens which runs 30-31 March.

The Qantas Women’s Sevens will now travel to Guangzhou, China, for the third round of the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series on 30-31 March.

Australian Rugby Union