Canada’s men and women have claimed rugby sevens gold at the Pan American Games 2015 in Toronto.Canada’s men claimed their second consecutive gold medal after beating Argentina 22-19 in a pulsating final, while the women defeated USA 55-7 in the first-ever Pan-American Games women’s sevens event on a memorable day for the home nation at the Games.
USA defeated Uruguay 40-12 in the men’s bronze medal match, while Rio 2016 Olympic Games hosts Brazil showed their strength with a 29-0 win over Argentina to win bronze in the women’s event.
With rugby sevens proving to be one of the hottest tickets at the Games, a crowd of nearly 20,000 were treated to thrilling days of competition, while sevens’ trademark festival delivered a great atmosphere.
World Rugby Council Member and Chairman of the Pan American Rugby Association Agustín Pichot was delighted with a highly successful competition: “Rugby sevens proved again why it is going to be a great success at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“Big crowds enjoyed two wonderful, action-packed days of rugby, full of emotion and great tries. Since rugby sevens debuted at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara four years ago, it has grown enormously across the continent and the addition of women’s rugby has made it even bigger and better. The way the Canadians won at home is also a great advertisement for the game.”
“The progress of every team was evident in a very competitive tournament and it was a wonderful advertisement for our sport.”
Fiji claim golden double at Pacific Games
Rugby sevens was also front and centre in the rugby-mad Pacific, where Fiji’s men and women claimed rugby sevens gold medals in Port Moresby on Friday.
Fiji’s women were the first to be crowned champions after edging top seeds Australia 12-10 in the women’s final at BSP Stadium in the Papua New Guinea capital, while HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions Fiji defeated Samoa 33-7 to claim the gold medal.
