Captain Nate Hirayama scored 16 points as Canada defeated Wales 21-12 on Sunday to finish a disappointing 13th at the HSBC USA Sevens.

The Canadian men had hoped for a good showing at Sam Body Stadium to build momentum and gain a favourable draw for Vancouver, next weekend's stop on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

But Canada went 0-2-1 in pool play — losing to New Zealand and Samoa and tying Spain — to miss out on the Cup quarterfinals. That consigned it to the consolation Challenge Trophy quarterfinals where it lost 21-19 to Scotland on Saturday.

WATCH | The entire match between Canada and Wales:

Watch Canada battle Wales at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Las Vegas, Nevada. 14:45

Ben Pinkleman scored two tries as the United States beat Samoa 27-0 on Sunday to defend its Las Vegas Sevens title and move clear atop the standings in the World Rugby Sevens Series.

After losing a match in pool play, the Americans swept through the playoff rounds to reach their fifth straight Cup grand final, going on to end a run of four consecutive Cup Final defeats.

Speedster Carlin Isles scored his third try of the match with no time remaining to give the U.S. a 24-19 win over New Zealand in the first semifinal, in a battle of the top two teams on the circuit. Samoa downed Argentina 33-19 in the other semi.

WATCH | The entire match between Canada and Samoa:

Watch Canada battle Samoa at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Las Vegas, Nevada. 22:43

It was Samoa's first final since May 2016 in Paris, 26 events ago. Under current Canada coach Damian McGrath, Samoa rallied from 26-7 down then to beat Fiji 29-26

Mike Fuailefau scored the other try for Canada against Wales. Hirayama added three conversions.

George Gasson and Tom Rogers scored tries for Wales, who had Cai Devine sin-binned early in the second half for a lineout violation.

Canada opened Sunday with a 28-12 win over France, its first victory at the tournament, in the 13th-place semifinal.

WATCH | The entire match between Canada and France:

Watch Canada battle France at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Las Vegas, Nevada. 22:40

Luke McCloskey opened the scoring, taking an offload from Isaac Kaay for the try. Hirayama added the conversion. Matt Mullins added a converted try off a French turnover with no time remaining in the first half for a 14-0 lead.

Hirayama was sin-binned for deliberately knocking down a pass early in the second half. Second later Pierre Gilles Lakafia crashed over for a French try to cut the lead to 14-7.

France's Sadek Deghmache was red-carded for a dangerous tackle with five minutes remaining. Less than a minute later, Canada's Adam Zaruba was yellow-carded for a high tackle.

Hirayama lost the ball at the Toronto goal-line after a messy scrum and France's Jean Pascal Barraque got to it first. The conversion was wide leaving Canada with a 14-12 lead.

Canada profited from the man advantage with Hirayama and Harry Jones cutting through the French defence for late insurance tries.

WATCH | The entire match between Canada and Scotland:

Watch Canada take on Scotland at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Las Vegas, Nevada. 20:24

Previously this season, the Canadian men tied for 11th in Dubai, Cape Town and Sydney. They tied for seventh in Hamilton, New Zealand — their lone Cup quarterfnal.

A two-month labour dispute ahead of the season did little for the team's preparation. More recently, inclement weather has made Langford, B.C., a less than hospitable training base.

Injuries have also taken a toll.

Coach Damian McGrath is missing speedster Justin Douglas (concussion) and Lucas Hammond (ankle). Pat Kay and Cole Davis were late withdrawals in Las Vegas.

Jones, sidelined by a shoulder injury since the Rugby World Cup Sevens in July 2018, and Admir Cejvanovic returned to the lineup.

The two-day Vancouver event has drawn a total of 213,630 spectators in its three years on the circuit.