The 2024 HSBC SVNS Series continues at HBF Park in Perth, Australia over January 26 to 28, and Canada’s rosters for the third stop of the series have been named by Head Coaches Jack Hanratty and Sean White.

The 2024 HSBC SVNS Series continues at HBF Park in Perth, Australia over January 26 to 28, and Canada’s rosters for the third stop of the series have been named by Head Coaches Jack Hanratty and Sean White.

Currently in fifth place overall, Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team opened the series in December by beating Ireland to progress to the semi-finals, eventually meeting France in the bronze medal match and finishing fourth. The following week in Cape Town, the team progressed to the quarter-finals once again, finishing in sixth after a close loss to Fiji in the fifth place play-off.

Eleven players who competed in Dubai and Cape Town return for Perth, including Krissy Scurfield and Charity Williams, who lead the team this season with five tries each. Joining the squad are Madison Grant, who represented Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team at WXV1 in New Zealand in the fall, and Olympian Breanne Nicholas, who won Pan American Games silver with the team in November and returns following recovery from injury.

“It was great to get back together following the holiday decentralization period and continue seeing the dedication and work ethic from all the players in our program. We have a huge number of events ahead of us this season and are happy to have so many quality rugby players challenging for selection,” said Jack Hanratty, Head Coach of Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team. “We showed through the first two stops in Dubai and Cape Town that we can compete with the best in the world, and that continues to be what we strive for heading into Perth, challenging for podium positions with performances we are proud of.”

After a twelfth place finish in the opening leg of the series in Dubai, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team rallied together in Cape Town to beat New Zealand and Samoa in pool play, later rebounding from a quarter-final loss with a victory over France to claim seventh place. The team currently sits ninth overall in the standings.

The roster stepping on the pitch in Perth includes 12 players who competed in Cape Town, including team leading try scorers Lockie Kratz and Jack Carson (five tries each; Kratz also leads the team in points this season with 39). Ethan Hager is set to make his HSBC SVNS Series debut, having made his first international appearance last August at the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier in Langford.

“Our Cape Town performance showed what we are capable of. The timing of the result added a level of confidence and motivation to our players over the holiday break as they continued their training close to family and friends,” said Sean White, Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team. “The challenge becomes the consistency of those performances. Seventh place, although a very strong finish based on our previous few years, is not the internal apex of this group. Our sights remain focused tournament by tournament and on building a consistent product that reflects the commitment, competition and resilience this group puts forward each day in our daily training environment in Langford.”

PERTH POOL PLAY SCHEDULE 

Friday January 26

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs South Africa
8:44 p.m. PT / 11:44 p.m. ET (Thursday January 25) / 12:44 p.m. local time

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs Great Britain
11:05 p.m. PT (Thursday January 25) / 2:05 a.m. ET / 3:05 p.m. local time

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Argentina
2:45 a.m. PT / 5:45 a.m. ET / 6:45 p.m. local time

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs South Africa
4:04 a.m. PT / 7:04 a.m. ET / 8:04 p.m. local time

Saturday January 27

Canada’s Women’s Sevens Team vs Australia
7:54 p.m. PT / 10:54 p.m. ET (Friday January 26) / 11:54 a.m. local time

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Spain
8:16 p.m. PT / 11:16 p.m. ET (Friday January 26) / 12:16 p.m. local time

Following the Perth tournament, both teams travel home to Canada to prepare for competition on home soil at HSBC SVNS Vancouver (February 23-25, 2024) at BC Place. Buy tickets now at vansevens.com.

MORE INFO 

All games can be livestreamed for free on RugbyPass TV.

For the most up to date information on the HSBC SVNS Series and live coverage, including details on the event format, the schedule and the latest news, visit the official website: https://www.svns.com/en

CANADA’S WOMEN’S SEVENS ROSTER 

4. Breanne Nicholas (Blenheim, ON) – Kent Havoc RFC
6. Charity Williams (Toronto, ON) – Markham Irish
7. Florence Symonds (Hong Kong) – University of British Columbia
9. Maddy Grant (Cornwall, ON) – University of Ottawa
10. Fancy Bermudez (Edmonton, AB) – NorWester Athletic Association / Westshore RFC
13. Krissy Scurfield (Canmore, AB) – University of Victoria
16. Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown, PEI) – CRFC
19. Carissa Norsten (Waldheim, SK) – Kirin RFC / University of Victoria
21. Olivia Apps (Lindsay, ON) – Lindsay RFC
23. Shalaya Valenzuela (Abbotsford, BC) – Abbotsford RFC
24. Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Nomads RFC
35. Caroline Crossley (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers
77. Chloe Daniels (Sutton, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / Queen’s University

CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS ROSTER 

2. Jake Thiel (Victoria, BC) – James Bay AA
4. Phil Berna (Vancouver, BC) – Vancouver Rowing Club
6. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) – Castaway Wanderers / Toronto Saracens
8. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) – Halifax Tars
12. David Richard (Milton, ON) – Mississauga Blues RFC
15. Ethan Hager (Brantford, ON) – Brantford Harlequins
19. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) – Pacific Pride
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) – Foothills Lions RFC
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
44. Lockie Kratz (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / NOLA Gold
59. Cody Nhanala (Ottawa, ON) – Ottawa Ospreys / Pacific Pride
88. Matt Percillier (Victoria, BC) – University of British Columbia
99. Jack Carson (Victoria, BC) – University of British Columbia