Canada's rugby 7s teams fall to Ireland in opening matches at Vancouver event

It wasn't the start the Canadian rugby sevens teams wanted as both the men and women lost their opening matches to Ireland at the HSBC Canada Sevens tournament Friday at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

The men were trounced 35-5 while the women dropped their game 28-7.

The early games were played before stands full of screaming schoolchildren invited for the opening day of tournament, which ends Sunday.

Canada's women continue pool play against the United States at 8:20 p.m. ET, while the men will face Australia at 12:03 a.m. ET.

The men controlled the ball early against Ireland but couldn't advance up the field. Ireland built a 21-0 halftime lead by scoring three tires in under four minutes.

Kalin Sager scored Canada's lone try in the second half.

"We had trouble holding onto the possession," said the prop from Trent Lakes, Ont., who is playing in his first year on the World Rugby Sevens Series. "We didn't quite get it there.

"They got a couple of good steals on us. Hopefully we start the next one with as much energy as we finished."

WATCH | Men's World Rugby Sevens Series Vancouver — Canada vs. Ireland:

The score was a slight improvement as the men lost 22-0 to Ireland at last weekend's Los Angeles Sevens.

"Each tournament is a building block," said Sager. "We're trying to chip away. We'd like to have a better performance out there for the home crowd."

The Irish men's team are ninth in the standings with 68 points while the Canadian men are 14th with 19 points.

Keyara Wardley scored the only Canadian try in the final minute of the women's game as Ireland romped to a 14-0 halftime lead.

"We didn't start out the way we wanted," said Wardley, a centre/wing from Vulcan, Alta. "There were definitely a lot of nerves with