Canada beat USA to claim maiden World Series Sevens title

Canada beat the United States 26-19 to win their maiden World Series Sevens title on Sunday and cap a day of extraordinary upsets that culminated in the first ever all-American final.

The Canadians regained their composure after squandering a 19-0 lead as their North American neighbours levelled the final at 19-19 to score the winning try through Lucas Hammond less than two minutes from the end, denying the US their second tournament success after winning at London in 2015.

"We made a couple of mistakes but the character of the team came through," Canadian coach Damian McGrath said.

"This is huge for Canadian rugby. We've lost $1 million in funding, our 15s results have been poor, so this just gives us a shot in the arm. It's a big deal for us."

For the US, it was a bittersweet moment. The Eagles made the final after losing in the semis at each of the last three World Series tournaments but coach Mike Friday belived the Americans lost the final because they gave Canada too big a start.

"The long and short of it is this, you can't gift anyone 19 points and expect to win a cup final," Friday said. "They were always going to get another chance and even though we got back to 19-all, the game was really lost by us in that first five minutes."

Canada had never won a World Series title before and earned their way into the final the hard way, beating traditional powerhouses New Zealand 26-14 in the quarter-finals then England 17-5 in the semis.

The US also upset rugby's established giants by beating Olympic champions Fiji 24-19 in the quarters then Australia 40-7 in the semis but their slow start cost them dearly.

Canada scored three tries inside the first five minutes through Matt Mullins, Harry Jones and Mike Fuailefau but a lapse in concentration let the US back in.

Perry Baker, the leading tryscorer for the series, scored a brilliant solo try to ignite the US comeback and then Stephen Tomasin dived over in the corner to cut the margin to 19-12 at halftime.

"We had more chances but we needed to execute and we just didn't do it."

Baker scored again shortly after the re-start to tie the scores as the US seized the momentum but Canada re-settled and got the winner through Hammond to seal the victory.

"It's awesome," Hammond said. "It's pretty emotional for all of us because it's been a long time coming.

"It shows how far the sport has come, not just in Canada but also the States and it's only going to get better from here."

England finished third at the Singapore sevens after defeating Australia 14-12 in the bronze medal match.

Simon Amor's side beat Kenya 13-12 in a tight quarter-final encounter but lost out 17-5 to eventual winners Canada in the Cup semi.

England fielded a youthful side in the battle for third and Callum Sirker claimed his second World Series try after cutting inside the Australian defence before flying through to score, Will Edwards converted.

Liam McNamara then finished off a length of the field break for Australia to level the score and on the stroke of half-time Henry Hutchinson went over in the corner to give his side a 12-7 lead.

Early in the second period, Edwards spotted a gap and broke through before releasing Harry Glover for his second World Series' try - the Newcastle University student stepping up from the role of 13th man in place of the injured Richard de Carpentier.

Edwards' conversion gave England a two-point lead and despite late pressure from Australia, they held on for victory.

Elsewhere, South Africa extended their lead in the championship standings to 25 points with two rounds to go despite finishing sixth, the first time this season they have not made the final.