Canadian women claim bronze in rugby sevens in France

Canada secured the bronze medal with a hard-fought 21-19 victory over the United States in the third place playoff of the world championship series in Bordeaux, France on Sunday.

Williams scored twice to lead the Canadian attack, while Hogan-Rochester also crossed for a try. Hogan-Rochester and Savannah Bauder added conversions as Canada held off a late U.S. push to seal a podium finish.

Earlier on Sunday, the Canadian squad lost a tight semifinal to New Zealand in the Cup semifinals.

Canada jumped out to a 10-0 lead with tries from Charity Williams and Savannah Bauder. New Zealand answered with two tries and a conversion to take a 12-10 advantage into halftime.

Canada regained the lead early in the second half when Williams scored her second try of the match. Asia Hogan-Rochester added the conversion to make it 17-12.

New Zealand responded with a converted try of its own to pull ahead and secure a 19-17 victory.

New Zealand faced Australia in the final, with Australia taking the victory 26-19.

Canada finished pool play with a 2-1 record, scoring wins over Spain (14-12) and Great Britain (35-14), capped off by a 33-22 loss to the U.S.

The Canadian women — the 2024 Olympic silver medallists — also finished fourth at the opening stop in Hong Kong in April. Countries' results across the three events determine the world champions.