March 16, 2017 - 12:34 PM
TORONTO - Canada has been drawn in a pool with the U.S., Spain and England at the inaugural HSBC Kitakyushu Sevens rugby tournament in Japan next month.
The Canadian women currently are third in the overall standings after finishing sixth, first and third in the first three stops of the six-event circuit. New Zealand leads with Olympic champion Australia second.
Canada is coming off a 31-7 win over the U.S. in the third-place match in Las Vegas and beat the Americans 21-17 in the Sydney final.
The U.S. ranks sixth overall while England stands eighth and Spain 10th.
The 11 core teams plus Japan will face off at the new Mikuni World Stadium in Kitakyushu.
Australia, twice runners-up this season, is joined by Fiji, Ireland and Brazil in Pool B at the April 22-23 tournament.
New Zealand, winners in Dubai and Las Vegas, are in Pool A with Russia, France and host Japan.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017