Canadian women’s rugby sevens team finishes sixth at opening stop of season

Canada’s women conceded a late try to fall 19-14 to the U.S. and finish sixth Sunday at the Emirates Dubai 7s, the opening event of the HSBC SVNS season.

For the Americans, who missed making the semifinals on a tiebreaker, it was a fourth straight victory after losing their opener 19-7 to Fiji. Canada finished at 3-2-0 on the weekend.

New Zealand swept the men’s and women’s cup finals at The Sevens Stadium.

New Zealand won the women’s crown, dethroning the five-time defending champion Australians 29-14. Australia had won 31 games straight in Dubai including a 24-17 decision over Canada in pool play Saturday.

The New Zealand women, who survived a 21-17 loss to the U.S. in pool play, had finished runner-up to Australia at the last three events in Dubai.

Japan won its first-ever medal on