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“So there’ll be lots of improvement for us as the year goes forward which, in an Olympic qualifying year, is no bad thing because the real prize is in July when we have the Olympic qualifying tournament. I’m happy for us to get better bit by bit and stay under the radar and be able to work on improving our game.”

The Canadians stand 12th in the World Series standings.

The U.S., runner-up in the first two events, top the table. New Zealand, champion in Dubai and winner of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, is second with Olympic champion Fiji, the winner in Cape Town, third. England is fourth and South Africa fifth.

The top four teams at the end of 10-event season will secure automatic qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Canadians find themselves in the unlikely position of cheering on the Americans this season. Automatic qualification would remove the U.S. from the North American qualifying tournament, which would ease Canada’s path to Tokyo.

Canada lost 21-5 to the U.S. in the NACRA Sevens Cup final that served as North American qualifier for the 2016 Games in Rio. The Canadian men then finished fifth in a last-chance qualifying tournament in Europe.

McGrath gets a boost this weekend with the return of Mike Fuailefau and Phil Berna from long-term injury absences.

“It’s almost like getting a new player back,” McGrath said of Berna, who has been out more than a year with a serious ankle/leg fracture. “He’s such a talented player and he’s only a young man — 22.”