The national squad finished sixth Friday at the Dubai Sevens after opening the tournament with three victories in pool play Thursday.
The Canadians were beaten 17-7 by Russia in the quarter-finals.
“We made too many technical errors … dropped balls and missed passes … versus a good Russia team,” said Canadian assistant coach Sandro Fiorino, in a statement.
That was followed by 19-12 victory over South Africa in the fifth/sixth semifinals and a 17-14 loss to Fiji in the fifth/sixth final.
“The effort was there in the extreme Dubai heat but we lacked the execution and too many opportunities were left on the table,” said Fiorino.
“The first tournament of the year is always challenging for our players. New positions and starting combinations are a challenge. But, I was excited to see some of our young players step up and accept the challenge of being starters. Breanne Nichols, Hannah Darling and Charity Williams showed some signs of brilliance and I’m sure they’ll use the experience here in the desert to their benefit in future tournaments.”
The next chance will be the Australia Sevens from Feb. 3-4 in Sydney.
The fifth event of the six-tournament 2016-17 HSBC World Series, the Canada Sevens, is scheduled for May 27-28 at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
New Zealand won the Dubai Sevens, beating Australia in the final Friday, to avenge the Kiwis’ loss to the Aussies in the gold-medal final of the Rio Olympics last summer.
Meanwhile, the 13th-ranked Langford-based Canadian men’s team put up a spirited resistance against Olympic-champion Fiji to open the Dubai Sevens on Friday before falling 26-19. Canada went on to lose 21-14 to Argentina and 31-5 to Wales in pool play and meets Kenya today in consolation play. On the Canadian men’s team in Dubai are Pat Kay of Duncan, Mike Fuailefau and Luke McCloskey, both SMUS grads from Victoria, UVic Vikes-grad Nathan Hirayama and captain John Moonlight from James Bay.
