Canada's Kalin Sager and Thomas Isherwood celebrate Sager's try during Vancouver Sevens rugby action, in Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

By The Canadian Press

Canadian men blank Barbados to retain title at Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens

Nov 23, 2025 | 5:30 PM

ARIMA — Canada defended its title at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens on Sunday, blanking Barbados 31-0 in the final to complete a perfect 6-0-0 run in the tournament.

Michael Moloney, captain Lockie Kratz, Johnny Franklin, Harry Corkum and Thomas Isherwood scored tries for Canada in the championship game at Larry Gomes Stadium.

The regional competition marks the first step of the Canadian men’s climb back to the elite HSBC SVNS circuit.

Relegated from the top tier in June 2024, the Canadians had hoped to reclaim their place via a promotion-relegation playoff series in May after climbing out of the second-tier Challenger Series. But World Rugby rejigged the entire sevens series structure ahead of the tournament in Carson, Calif., taking promotion off the table.

Canada now moves on the next stage of the promotion road, an HSBC SVNS 3 event set for January. A top-two finish there would move the Canadian men on to the HSBC SVNS 2 competition scheduled to run February to March. A top-four finish there earns a berth in the three-event HSBC SVNS World Championship in April, May and June — and a chance to get back in the top tier.

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The Canadians won their pool by defeating Barbados 45-0, Bermuda 34-0 and Mexico 35-7 before downing the Cayman Islands 40-7 in quarterfinal play and host Trinidad and Tobago 40-0 in the semifinal.

“We wanted to test ourselves in this tournament and I think we got that,” said Kratz. “We had a lot of good game and we are just building towards the next tournament in the new year. The team had a lot of fun, showed well and just overall happy with our performance.”

Jamie Armstrong and Ethan Turner each scored two tries in the semifinal with single tries from Isherwood and Johnny Franklin. Trinidad was reduced to five men late in the first half due to two yellow cards.

The U.S., as a member of the HSBC SVNS circuit, was not part of the RAN Sevens field.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2025

The Canadian Press