Richmond’s Nathan Hirayama helped Canada close out the 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Seven Series with a bronze medal finish at the London Sevens.
In a rematch of the Singapore Sevens which produced Canada’s first-ever Cup champions finish, the Canadians edged the United States 22-19.
Hirayama secured the win as he charged down Madison Hughes’ kick, collected the loose ball and touched down for a 22-14 advantage. Despite Alex Schwarz’s late try, Canada were able to secure bronze.
After reaching cup play with a 2-1 record on day one with wins over Fiji (22-19) and Japan (28-14), Canada got past Argentina 28-7 in the quarter-finals. A spectacular try from Hirayama, which saw him dance his way through the Argentinian defence, opened up a 14-0 lead. He added another try in the second half.
Canada’s title hopes ended with a 24-5 loss to eventual champion and host England. It was Canada’s sixth appearance of the season in Cup play. They finished eighth in the series overall standings with 98 points and secured their entry into next year’s Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.
Hirayama finished fourth in overall Series scoring with 269 points. That included 83 points from kicking conversions which ranked fifth.
