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“We were very pleased to make another quarter final, but disappointed we can’t convert them into victories in the cup competition,” he said Wednesday from Singapore. His Canadian squad won two of three in pool play at last weekend’s event in Hong Kong. They lined up against Fiji, the eventual champions, in the cup quarterfinals, were tied 12-12 at half time, but lost out on a couple tough breaks to the gold medallists.

Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP/Getty Images

Their next game, a plate (fifth-place) semi final vs. Argentina, saw a furious fight back from 15-0 down to lead 19-15 in the final minute, only to lose on the final play of the game.

“It’s pleasing that we are pushing the top teams, both Fiji and South Africa reached the final and we pushed both close for 10 of the 14 minutes. It is probably a reflection of where we are at the moment. Our performance against France was excellent at times and some of our rugby against both SA and Fiji was top drawer,” McGrath added.

A year ago, Canada came out of Hong Kong with very little to show for themselves. They’d pushed Fiji hard in pool play but lost 19-17. They won one game on the final day, a shield semi final against Portugal, only to lose an ugly encounter to the Russians.

The mood was very low. They then went to Singapore with a stack of injuries and didn’t win a game. Four of the five matches on the weekend were losses by a try or less, so bad luck was part of the game, but the mood was decidedly foul at the end.

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce / Getty Images

This time around, there’s a new vibe. The target, of course is to finish better on day two — but that it’s on the cup side is good news on its own.