Canadian women 6th at Hong Kong 7s after narrow loss to Fiji

New Zealand's women and men repeated as champions Sunday at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, one of the most celebrated stops on the rugby sevens circuit.

The Black Ferns thumped the United States 36-7 in the women's final to claim their third straight tournament title and fifth podium finish in six events this season, moving past Australia atop the HSBC SVNS standings on points difference with one regular-season event remaining.

Australia downed Ireland 14-5 in the men's bronze-medal game while the Australia women edged France 24-21 to finish third.

The Canadian women finished sixth after losing the fifth-place playoff 19-15 to Fiji. Canada's men were 12th, beaten 26-17 by Britain in the 11th-place playoff.

Canada's women, whose best result of the season so far was a third in Vancouver, are fifth in the standings. The men are 12th and last.

The rebuilding Canadian men, who had to deal with injuries in Hong Kong, have collected a minimum one-point in five of the first six events. They have now lost 20 straight games since defeating France 33-7 on Dec. 10 to finish seventh in Cape Town.

The results in Hong Kong mean that seven of the eight teams have been confirmed for the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid from May 31 to June 2.

Ireland, Fiji, France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa join Argentina in the men's tournament. The U.S. currently eighth, will look to join them with a good performance in Singapore.

On the women's side, Canada, the U.S. Ireland and Fiji join Australia, New Zealand and France in confirming their places at the Grand Final in Madrid. The final spot will be decided in Singapore with eighth-place Britain currently holding a two-point lead over Brazil.

After winning their pool with three