Canadian rugby 7s men face relegation battle at season finale in Madrid

For the second year in a row, Canada's men will have to fight to retain their status as a core team on the world rugby sevens circuit.

The Canadian men wrapped up another disappointing outing Sunday, beaten 17-12 by Samoa in the 11th-place playoff at the HSBC Singapore SVNS. It marked the sixth time in seven events this season, and fifth straight tournament, the rebuilding Canada side finished last.

The Canadian men now head to Madrid for the final event of the season May 31 to June 2, joining the ninth-placed U.S., No. 10 Spain and No. 11 Samoa in a relegation playoff with the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series.

Uruguay, Kenya, Chile, Germany and Hong Kong China are the top five Challenger sides heading into the final round in Munich on May 18-19.

The top four teams in the relegation playoff will earn core status on world sevens circuit.

The fifth-ranked Canadian women finished seventh in Singapore, closing out with a 17-5 win over Britain on Sunday. Charity Williams scored two of the tries with Alysha Corrigan added a single. Chloe Daniels added a conversion.

The slimmed-down sevens circuit, rebranded this season as HSBC SVNS from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, features seven regular-season events, each featuring men's and women's competition, plus the grand final in Madrid with promotion and relegation at stake.

The Canadian men saw their losing streak extend to 26 games dating back to a 33-7 win over France on Dec. 10 that saw them finish seventh in Cape Town, their best result of the season.

There were positive signs, however. The Canadian men pushed No. 3 New Zealand to the limit in Singapore before falling 21-17 in extra time in pool play.

Losses to Australia (21-14), Argentina