Carissa Norsten’s two tries propelled Canada to a 26-17 victory over Fiji in the quarterfinals of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Saturday. The Canadian women, ranked sixth overall before the event, will now face top-ranked New Zealand in the semifinals at the new Kai Tak Stadium on Sunday.
In addition to Norsten’s performance, Fancy Bermudez and Carmen Izyk also contributed tries for Canada, who held a narrow 14-12 lead over Fiji at halftime. Olivia Apps, Breanne Nicholas, and Taylor Perry successfully converted the tries.
After securing the second spot in Pool C, Canada advanced to the knockout rounds. They began with a 24-17 win against Japan, suffered a 26-15 loss to Australia, and bounced back with a 29-10 victory over Spain. Australia, topping the pool with a perfect record, will face France in the other women’s semifinal.
On the men’s side, the semifinals will see Australia facing Argentina and Fiji taking on France. Canada’s women previously finished eighth in Dubai, fifth in Cape Town, fourth in Perth, and seventh in Vancouver. The season continues with the upcoming event in Singapore on April 5-6, leading up to the world championship on May 3-4 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Furthermore, the season finale will include a promotion/relegation playoff involving the top four men’s and women’s teams from the HSBC Sevens Challenger and the bottom four teams from the HSBC SVNS circuit. The Canadian men, who were relegated last year, are scheduled to participate in the final Challenger Series event in Krakow, Poland on April 11-12.
