HSBC CANADA WOMEN’S SEVENS FEEDS GROWING SEVENS FEVER
VIA: Rugby Canada
Published: April 17 2016
LANGFORD, BC – The HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens Langford wrapped Sunday at Westhills Stadium in Langford, BC. This weekend marks the second straight year that the City of Langford has played host to the women’s five stop global sevens series, and the community responded once again with a near sold out stadium, drawing over 5,000 passionate rugby supporters over the course of the two day event. The event also delivered 2 hours of live TSN broadcast in Canada.
Under clear skies, the event successfully delivered an engaging outdoor fan zone that benefitted families and rugby fans alike with popular food trucks and well attended autograph sessions. Fans enjoyed the inclusion this year of Honda Rookie Rugby Flag games during the breaks - and the event also included a capping ceremony for two players during one of the breaks on Sunday. The crowd also showed their support to the family fallen RCMP Const. Sarah Becket, raising $2000 through program sales.
We are proud to have delivered two exceptional days of Sevens rugby before a proud and passionate rugby savvy home town crowd ,” said John Furlong, Chairman, Canada Sevens. “The world’s best teams have showed up strong, demonstrating composure and tenacity that is serving notice to the world that they are Olympic ready. In a few short months, we can all look forward to cheering our Canadian women’s team on as they challenge for gold in Rio on the world’s biggest sporting stage.”
Saturday saw a total of 18 matches played throughout the course of the eight hour competition schedule for the day, beginning with England versus Ireland at 10am and wrapping at 7:00PM with Fiji defeating Spain in a thrilling match that saw Fiji hang on for the win. Living up to their current world ranking, Canada’s women took control on Day 1, and thrilled a cheering home town crowd with three victories throughout the day against Japan, Ireland and England respectively.
Canada finished first in their pool, after a closely fought battle against England, and notably did not concede a single point over the course of the three games, advancing them to Sunday’s quarterfinals.
Sunday saw 16 more matches beginning at 10:00am, and wrapping at 7:00pm, with the final of four awards ceremonies where teams were presented with Bowl, Plate and Cup trophies. England was the winner of the tournament Cup, with Canada winning the Plate and Fiji winning the Bowl.
“In only our second year as host, the City of Langford and the Vancouver Island Community at large have clearly embraced the passion and culture of sevens rugby,” said Bill Cooper, CEO Canada Sevens. “We’re thrilled to have showcased these world class high performance athletes within such a vibrant and enthusiastic festival atmosphere, and wish all of the teams the very best of luck for their fifth and final stop on the tour, before making their way to Rio for their first ever performances on the world’s biggest sports stage – the 2016 Olympic Games.”
“This event has served as an important building block in the lead up to Rio 2016 and we are thrilled to see such support from the community,” said Gareth Rees, Director, commercial and Program Relations for Rugby Canada, and member of the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame. “We are proud to be sharing the unique and exciting culture of Sevens with Canadians and seeing the values of respect and camaraderie, coming through both on and off the field.”
About HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens Victoria/Langford:
The HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens is a two-day tournament held on April 16 and 17 hosted at the home of Canadian Rugby at Westhills Stadium, and will feature 12 of the world’s top women’s rugby sevens teams. The Canada Women’s Sevens will be the fourth stop in a five-stop world tour as part of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.
About Canada Sevens partners:
The HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens Langford is made possible thanks to the following partnerships: HSBC and DHL (World Rugby Series Partners), Butchart Gardens and the Keg Steak House + Bar (Premier Partners); Canada’s Dairy Farmers (Signature Partners), Securiguard, Goldcorp, Quality Foods and Helijet (Official Partners), and CTV (Media Partner). The event is also supported by the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Langford, and Tourism Victoria.
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