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Canada finished fourth at the 2017 Wellington Sevens.

That’s the headline.

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But the story, as the cliche goes, goes much deeper.

Canada played with a verve and aggression not seen in at least two years. It was the kind of consistency not truly seen since the 2013-14 season.

On attack, the Canadians attacked the defensive line directly. On defence, they closed space, limiting the opposition to a phone booth as often as possible.

It worked for most of the weekend. It drove them to 3-0 on day one.

It got them a 17-12 quarterfinal win over Argentina. It kept them in the game against South Africa in the semis, even if it was a 21-5 loss. And it nearly won them the bronze medal over Scotland, who needed a last second score to snatch the win 28-22.

The Bronze medal game was a re-match of pool play and proved to be as tight an encounter.

Adam Zaruba was a powerhouse, scoring three tries to cap a truly sensational weekend.