Article content

KITAKYUSHU, Japan — Canada defeated England 7-5 to win the Kitakyushu Sevens title on Sunday in the lowest scoring final in World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series history.

Captain Ghislaine Landry crossed the line on the final play to level the score at 5-5 and converted to give the Canadians their first event victory since Sydney 2017.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canada beats England 7-5 to win Kitakyushu Sevens rugby Back to video

Landry was playing in her 30th series tournament.

The Kitakyushu Sevens was the fourth round of the six-leg series, which doubles as a qualifier for the 2020 Olympics.

The top four teams qualify for the Tokyo Games.

The victory lifted Canada to second place in the World Series standings, six points behind New Zealand, which won the first three legs this season. The United States is third — two points behind Canada — after winning the bronze-medal match against France, 36-12, in Kitakyushu.

Canada also beat Russia 17-14 and the U.S. 24-12 on its way to the final.

Two-time defending champion New Zealand was beaten by the United States 26-19 in the quarterfinal and settled for fifth by beating Australia 34-26.

Canada finished 11th in Kitakyushu last year, one of its worst performances on the circuit.

——–

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP–Sports