Canada’s Women’s Sevens team, with Williams Lake’s Kayla Moleschi, finished runners up at the Sao Paulo Sevens following a 29-0 loss to Australia in the cup final.
Playing under heavy rain, Canada was held scoreless for the first time during the weekend. Australia had also beaten Canada 29-14 in pool play on Saturday.
It was the third time in the last four series events Canada and Australia had met in a cup final, with the teams splitting the previous two meetings 20-17. After finishing a disappointing sixth place in Dubai back in December and earning just 10 points in the world series standings, Canada earned 18 points in Sao Paulo. It puts Canada in a second-place tie in the standings with New Zealand with 28 points.
Canada advanced to the cup final after beating New Zealand, 19-10, in the semifinal. It was Canada’s first ever win over the Black Ferns, having lost seven of the previous eight matches with one draw. Earlier in the day Canada defeated France 19-10 in the quarterfinal.
Moleschi said she’s proud of her teammates and their effort during the weekend, despite the tough loss to Australia in the final.
“Finishing second was a huge step up from Dubai and one we are pleased with,” Moleschi said. “We spent a lot of time studying our opponents and setting a solid game plan in regards to each team individually. With this and the composure on defence we kept during games we were able to create success in shutting teams down and allowing our attack to unfold.”
