USA and Canada’s men’s and women’s teams are on course to book their ticket to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 after dominating day one of the NAWIRA (North America West Indies Rugby Association) Rugby World Cup Sevens Qualifiers in the Bahamas.
In fact, the top seeds in all three pools of men’s competition came through their fixtures unscathed as the USA, Canada and Guyana remained undefeated and held their opponents scoreless in the first day of action at the Winton Rugby Club in Nassau.
In Pool A, the USA beat Mexico at a canter, scoring 52 points in the Eagles’ first match of the day. In their second match, against Bermuda, the USA made a slow start, but were able to come back strong in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points and finishing with a 31-0 win and an easy ride into Sunday’s Cup competition.
Good start for USA's men
“To Bermuda’s credit, they threw us off our game plan in that first half,” U.S. Head Sevens Coach Al Caravelli said. “We recovered well in the second half, however, and even after going down a player our guys remained collected and finished the day as planned. We are just taking these games one half at a time and as long as we keep improving, I’m pleased. Our goal in these matches this weekend is defence and I think we held true to form in that area.”
In the other Pool A match, Bermuda beat Mexico in one of the most fiercely contested matches of the day, sliding by with a 10-5 victory and earning itself a place in the Cup brackets.
Canada's men on course
In Pool B, Canada started in good form despite losing a player through injury early on, beating the Bahamas 48-0, before going on to beat Trinidad and Tobago, but the coach was rightfully disappointed to lose one of his players so early in the game.
“That may end up affecting us down the road, but the rest of the team is the healthiest they’ve been in awhile,” Canada’s Sevens Coach Steven Thompson said. “We just have to focus on our objective, which is to qualify, and then we can turn our focus to some other things.”
Trinidad and Tobago beat the Bahamas in their first match of the day and in front of a swelling home crowd. Trinidad and Tobago will go on to face the USA in the first round tomorrow, while the Bahamas will meet Mexico in the Plate bracket.
In Pool C of the men’s event, Guyana finished on top of Barbados, 34-0, and just slipped by Cayman with a 10-0 victory. Guyana will also face Trinidad and Tobago in their first Cup match of the day, while Cayman, following a 27-0 victory over Barbados, will go on to play Bermuda.
Canada and USA lead the way in women's competition
In the women’s competition, the USA outscored Pool A opponents (Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda) 142 -0, while the Canadian women demanded a similar respect, remaining undefeated and heading into day two determined to make the finals.
“Canada looked determined,” USA Women’s Head Coach Julie McCoy said after their matches. “But it’s not about our opposition; it’s about playing the game at our level and sometimes that is tough to do. It takes a lot of mental fortitude, but that’s what I’m trying to instill in these players. I want them to always be challenged. I want them to always be preparing for competitive games.”
The competition continues on Sunday with the Cup pool matches, semi-finals and finals when the two qualifiers from each tournament will be determined. The action starts at 9.50 local time.
