Langford-based Canadian men's sevens open Olympic qualifier with win

The Langford-based Canadian men’s rugby sevens team took a small, but vital, step toward the 2024 Paris Olympics as the last-chance qualifying tournament opened Friday at Stade Louis II in Monaco.

Matthew Oworu of Victoria Pacific Pride and captain Phil Berna scored two tries each for Canada while Cooper Coats, on an assist from Oworu, had a try and kicked three converts. Coats, along with Jack Carson of Victoria, were the top-two points scorers for Canada in the just-completed HSBC World Series season.

Coats, Carson, Oworu, Berna and company face another essentially must-win game this morning in the Olympic qualifier against China before concluding pool play later today against Great Britain, which is one of the favoured teams. Two wins in pool play should get Canada into the medal round Sunday featuring the quarter-finals, semifinals and final.

Only the winner of the tournament will advance to the Paris Games as the 12th and final Olympic qualifying team. It will be a massive challenge with elite rugby nations such as Great Britain and South Africa, the respective silver and bronze medallists in the 2016 Rio Olympics, also in the last-chance qualifier and looking for the lone berth out of Monaco to fill the final slot in the 2024 Olympic tournament next month at the Stade de France.

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