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Some might lament the decline in the social nature of the top end of the game, but Moonlight points out that just makes winning sweeter. “You can celebrate when you win,” he said. “The ability to let loose and relax, it’s a high stress environment it’s good to let loose after a hard two weeks.”

This weekend in Las Vegas, the target is the same as it ever has been: win the tournament. The Canadians finished fourth two tournaments ago in Sydney, then fell victim to some bad bounces and finished 13th for the third time.

“You make your own luck,” he said of the up and down weeks. In Sydney, the Canadians dealt with some injuries and searing heat but still were this close to a second straight cup round. A 17-17 draw at the end of group play with Argentina sent the Canadians into the bottom half of Sunday’s playoffs. Had Pat Kay been able to convert his full time try, Canada would have won and we’d be discussing a different story.

“The last tournament Russia only lost two games,” Moonlight pointed out. They finished 9th by sweeping Sunday after losing pool round games against Canada and Argentina. They managed a win to close out day one over the USA.

“Any team can step up,” Moonlight continued. “The week before teams were putting 30 points on them.”

Last season six different squads hoisted a the cup at the end of a tournament, a series record. This season has been dominated by South Africa — who won in Sydney, Wellington and the season opener in Dubai, while England won South Africa’s home event in Cape Town — with a very narrow performance band between the next 10 teams or so. The Canadian sit 12th but a couple good performances would see them quickly climb back into the top 8.