It was an instantly iconic moment in Canadian rugby history and it was finished off by a pair of North Shore players.
With no time left on the clock in a matchup Saturday at BC Place, Rockridge grad Harry Jones completed an impressive sequence by the Canadian national sevens team by pitching out to Carson Graham grad Adam Zaruba who sprinted in for a try to tie the score 12-12 against powerhouse Australia in the first ever World Rugby Sevens Series event held on Canadian soil. Moments later Nathan Hirayama chipped in the conversion to give Canada a famous 14-12 victory.
“Jones to Zaruba … we’ve got that North Shore chemistry going,” Zaruba said with a laugh one day later as he recalled the moment. “It was intense. The crowd was the loudest I’ve ever heard a crowd before. It was fantastic. Frankly all I had to do was catch the ball and run in with it – all the boys on the inside did all the work. But it was pretty special to do that here in front of the home crowd. It was awesome.”
“A little North Shore connection,” said Jones, who was sporting two black eyes thanks to a broken nose suffered earlier in the game against Australia. The win certainly helped ease his pain. “It was awesome – just putting the big man (Zaruba) away. Even if there was a guy there I knew he would have gotten over. It was a nice way to finish it.”
That was just one special moment in a weekend full of them as Rugby Canada hosted what was, by all accounts, a highly successful debut on the Sevens Series, a circuit that currently sees 10 countries host tournaments with the highest ranked national teams in the world taking part.
Canada’s upset over Australia gave them a 2-1 record in pool play but, due to point differential, they did not qualify for the “Cup” playoffs, instead sliding into the “Bowl” playoffs, essentially the consolation side of the 16-team tournament.
New Zealand went on to win the tournament, going a perfect 6-0 and claiming the Cup with a 19-14 win in the final.
The Canadians, however, didn’t let their tough luck in the opening round stop them from putting on a show. On Sunday Canada ripped off three straight wins to claim the Bowl and finish the tournament with a 5-1 record. Their final victory came in familiar fashion as Canada scored with no time on the clock to steal a 19-17 win against France, grabbing the Bowl and sending the more than 30,000 supporters – many clad in outrageous costumes – into hysterics.
“We woke up this morning and said we’re in the Bowl, let’s win three games and take home some hardware,” said Jones. “And that’s exactly what we did.”
“That describes Canadian rugby,” added Zaruba about the come-from-behind victory. “I think part of what we take pride in is we never quit. We have a lot of hard workers on our team and it doesn’t matter if there’s one second on the clock, one minute on the clock – we always are pushing for that opportunity to get ahead. … We wanted to bring some hardware home for the fans here.”
The event thrilled rugby fanatics and likely created a few new fans as well. Both days of the tournament saw the lower bowl packed at BC Place along with a couple of upper bowl sections. Those in attendance were treated to the non-stop thrill ride that is sevens rugby, including 45 games played over the two days with very little down time in between. There were also many neat little details for fans to enjoy: teams raced onto the field through shooting flames, and the game ball for each match was delivered by a remote-control van.
The Canadian players, including Jones and Zaruba who both came up through the North Shore’s Capilano Rugby Club, also went home impressed by the tournament.
“Honestly it exceeded every single one of my expectations,” said Zaruba. “I always knew it was going to be fantastic and it was going to be awesome for rugby in Canada, but just seeing the sea of red, and how many people are out here and the demand for the event – it’s been absolutely fantastic, I could not be happier with it.”
“I know I’m biased but I think this is the best stop on the circuit now,” added Jones. “It’s right up there with Hong Kong and hopefully we can do it for many more years.”
There are more Sevens Series events coming up for the Canadians this season but the team is focused on a tournament scheduled for June 18-19 in Monaco. That will be Canada’s last chance to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio where sevens will makes its debut as an official Olympic sport. The Monaco event will feature teams such as Russia, Samoa and Spain all battling for one Olympic berth.
“We’re feeling confident,” Zaruba said about the team’s chances for Olympic qualification. “There’s quite a bit of time between then and now and we’re just trying to iron everything out, find our rhythm and peak at that tournament.”
