New Zealand defeats Canada 50-14 in third-place game at rugby sevens event in Spain

Canada's Asia Hogan-Rochester celebrates after scoring a try during the Women's Rugby World Cup final match between England and Canada at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Alastair Grant

VALLADOLID — Asia Hogan-Rochester had two tries and two conversions as the Canadian women’s rugby sevens squad dropped a 50-14 decision to New Zealand in the third-place game Sunday at the HSBC SVNS World Championship Series event.

After rolling to four straight wins, Canada lost 14-12 to the United States in semifinal action earlier Sunday. The Canadians led 12-0 at halftime but the Americans scored twice in the final three minutes to take the 14-12 lead.

Canada advanced to the semifinals with a decisive 40-5 quarterfinal victory over Japan on Saturday.

Hogan-Rochester and Florence Symonds had the tries for Canada against the Americans. Hogan-Rochester added a conversion.

Australia defeated the U.S. 27-14 in the tournament final.

Canada trailed 17-7 at halftime versus New Zealand. Hogan-Rochester opened the scoring just three minutes into the contest to put the Canadians ahead 7-0.

But three first-half tries from Kelsey Teneti helped stake New Zealand to its halftime advantage. Teneti finished with five tries.

“We are really proud overall of our weekend here at the world championships,” Canadian coach Jocelyn Barrieau said. ”Obviously, we would have loved to take a step forward and given ourselves an opportunity to play in the final but unfortunately that wasn’t in the cards for us today.

“The game kind of slipped through our fingers against the USA in the semifinal and a tough response in the third-place game. We know we have some mental work to do and preparation to do to make sure we are ready to play in these games if that’s where we find ourselves again next week.”

Canada went undefeated in its pool with victories over host Spain, Great Britain and France. The Canadian women, the 2024 Olympic silver medallists, were fourth at the season-opening world championship leg in Hong Kong in April.

The world champions will be decided at the third and final leg of the series slated for Bordeaux, France, starting Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2026.

The Canadian Press