Canadians win two gold medals in rugby sevens competition at Pan Am Games

Canada has won double gold in rugby sevens competition at the Pan American Games.

The Canadian men wrapped up the two-day competition with a 22-19 decision over Argentina after dramatic wins of 26-19 over the U.S. in the semifinals and 17-12 over Chile in the quarter-finals.

Canada won the first Pan Am men’s rugby sevens crown in 2011 in Guadalajara.

Earlier Sunday, the Canadian women defeated the U.S. 55-7 at Exhibition Stadium, normally known as BMO Field, to win the inaugural women’s rugby gold and go unbeaten in six games at the Pan Am competition.

Canada had defeated the U.S. women 34-12 in a meaningless pool match prior to the championship game that saw both teams rest some of their big guns. The U.S. points were the first scored against Canada at the tournament in 67 minutes play.

The Canadian women outscored their opposition 230-12 going into the final, running in 38 tries while conceding two.

Canada was the top-ranked team in the six-team women’s Pan Am competition, having finishing second in the Women’s Seven Series last season. The Americans were fifth on the circuit and Brazil eighth.

The U.S. Eagles were the top-ranked side in the eight-team men’s competition, finishing sixth in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series last season, ahead of No. 8 Argentina, No. 9 Canada and No. 16 Brazil

Brazil beat Argentina 29-0 for the women’s bronze while the U.S. defeated Uruguay 40-12 in the men’s third-place match.