Canadian Rugby Sevens Team

Vancouver is a stop on the World Rugby Sevens Series tour. The Canada Sevens is a three-day tournament featuring top rugby teams from around the globe.

If you are a rugby fan or a fan of sports in general, then this is an event you likely won’t want to miss. The tour returned to Vancouver from February 23rd to 25th in 2024.

Other events that happened over that same weekend included the Just for Laughs Vancouver comedy festival, Earlybird RV Show in Abbotsford, and Vancouver International Wine Festival. There was also Love Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge and Space Explorers: The Infinite at Rocky Mountaineer Station.

To learn about other events happening this month, see Vancouver’s February Calendar. For information about the rugby games, continue reading.

This article contains the following information about Rugby Sevens in Vancouver:

Vancouver’s Canada Rugby Sevens

In 2023 there were 16 teams competing in Vancouver in the Rugby Sevens Tournament. There are normally 10 tournaments held around the world each year and the team with the most points out of all the tournaments wins. In 2024, however, the competition changed.

The new Rugby Sevens Series once again had both the men’s and women’s tournaments taking place simultaneously (as was the same in 2023). There are now only eight tournaments and the number of men’s teams taking part have been cut down to 12 to be equal to the women’s tournaments.

In total, the Vancouver tournament featured 24 teams and over 60 matches between February 23rd and 25th in 2024.

The event has a party-like atmosphere. A lot of the seating is un-assigned, so those in attendance can move around the stadium. Many people who attend also visit the bars around the stadium during the day, before going back inside to watch.

The Teams at the Event

There were 24 teams participating at the Vancouver Rugby Seven Series this year.

The men’s side had 12 teams, which were Argentina, Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Samoa, South Africa, Spain and USA.

The women’s side also had 12 teams, which were Australia, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and USA.

Team Canada at the Rugby Sevens — Team Canada at Practice

Ticket Prices

Prices of tickets depend on if you want reserved seats and if you want to go for one day or the entire weekend. Continue reading below for tournament packages and prices.

General Admission

At the 2024 Canada Rugby Sevens event, these tickets allowed you to sit wherever you wanted within the General Admission area but your seats weren’t reserved and anyone could take them if you decided to leave and come back later.

One Day Pass – $75+
Saturday and Sunday – $150+
Full Tournament – $165+

Reserved Seats

These seats were designated seats saved for ticket holders for the entire weekend. They ensured that you were always sitting with your group in the same spot with amazing views of the field.

Reserved Seating:

- One Day Pass – $80+
- Saturday and Sunday – $160+
- Full Tournament – $180+

Sideline Seating:

- One Day Pass – $95+
- Saturday and Sunday – $190+
- Full Tournament – $225+

Premium Tickets

These seats each had their own perks such as private lounges, private bars and/or in-seat food services. Check the official website to see the specific extras included in each type of ticket.

Elite and Club:

- One Day Pass – $160+
- Full Tournament – $390+

Fieldside Premium:

- Full Tournament – $795+

Canada's Rugby Sevens Coach

The Rugby Sevens Schedule

Every game lasts for about 16 to 20 minutes, so they are very short. Games start almost immediately after the other. Each game is broken up into two seven-minute halves with a two-minute half-time in the middle.

Below were the general times for when the games started and ended in 2024.

Friday, February 23rd, 2024

The day’s first game was a women’s clash between USA and Fiji. They kicked off at 11:30 am. The Canadian women’s team played France a few matches later, starting at 12:58 pm. The next session of women’s games began at 4:24 pm, with USA playing against Japan. Canada concluded the women’s side in a match against Great Britain.

The men’s side of the tournament opened at 1:52 pm with a match between South Africa and New Zealand. Team Canada took on Argentina at 3:42 pm, which was the last men’s match of the afternoon. Great Britain opened the evening games with a match against South Africa at 6:56 pm. The Canadian men were up against Fiji at 8:24 pm, which was just before the final match of the day.

Saturday, February 24th, 2024

On the Saturday in 2024, the women’s games started at 10:15 am with a clash between Japan and Fiji. Canada played Spain at 11:43 am. The last women’s match of the Saturday started at 5:01 pm.

Team Canada’s men’s team played at 2:11 pm against Spain. Matchups after 5:38 pm depended on the standings. The final match of the day began at 7:28 pm.

Sunday, February 25th, 2024

The Sunday games started at 10:15 am and finished with a match at 5:23 pm. Since this was the last day of the tournament, there were lots of knockout games to enjoy in both the women’s and men’s sides.

The bronze medal matches were at 3:40 pm and 4:10 pm. The women’s final started at 4:43 pm and the men’s final kicked off at 5:23 pm. Medal presentations took place thereafter.

What is Rugby Sevens?

Rugby Sevens is played at a faster pace than standard rugby. There are seven players on each team on the field at once (as opposed to 15), and they play seven-minute halves with just a two-minute break in between.

Scoring happens more frequently in Sevens as the field is still the same size as standard rugby, despite having fewer players. As well, the short length of the games means that many of the matches can be played back-to-back.

Team Canada Practice Video

We got to see the Canadian men’s team practicing at BC Place Stadium on September 17th in 2021 (so the day before the 2021 tournament). The following video is of what we saw.