By Canadian Press

Canadian men look to build on Singapore tournament rugby sevens win

May 12, 2017 | 4:30 AM

The Canadian men’s rugby sevens team arrived in Paris with a new entry on its resume — champion.

Damian McGrath’s team ended a 140-tournament drought last month in Singapore where it defeated the U.S. 26-19 to win a World Series event for the first time.

Now seventh in the overall standings, Canada looks to keep the momentum going this weekend in Paris at the penultimate stop on the 10-event world circuit. 

“Instead of being the underdogs and flying under the radar, we’re now front and centre and there to be shot at,” McGrath said. “So I’m interested to see how the players deal with that.

“They’ve certainly got a lot of self-belief out of what happened in Singapore. I wouldn’t say we’re coming in ultra-confident but I think it’s turned a little corner for them and they realize that they can consistently play with the big boys. They’re looking forward to it.”

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Canada has been reinforced by the return of Adam Zaruba, a six-foot-five 265-pounder from North Vancouver known by teammates as “the Freak” – or Zoobs if they’re feeling charitable.

“Just his presence adds a lot to the team,” McGrath said. “And he’s got something to prove because he was missing from Singapore. So he’s raring to go.”

The big man had been sidelined by a concussion and related neck problem.

Pat Kay and Lucas Hammond, meanwhile, are nursing knocks in training.

The draw has done Canada few favours. The Canadians are in a strong pool with series leader South Africa, No. 9 Scotland and No. 15 Japan.

“We’ve got our work cut out, we’re certainly not being given an easy ride,” said McGrath.

The Japanese have bolstered their team for the final two events, knowing they need to finish in the top 14 to keep their core status on the circuit.

McGrath believes Scotland is much better than its position in the standings would suggest. “They looked a million dollars earlier in the year. I’d imagine they’d try to finish with a bang.”

And South Africa, runner-up the last four seasons on the world circuit, can secure the overall title by making the final this weekend.

Paris has fond memories for McGrath, who coached Samoa to a Cup win there last year. It was part of an unlikely end to the 2015-15 season that saw Kenya win in Singapore, Samoa in Paris and Scotland in London.

McGrath expects fewer upsets on the final two stops this season.

“I think the big teams will be coming strong and looking to finish with a bang.”

McGrath brought Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back Tevaughn Campbell to Singapore and Hong Kong to train with his squad. He says he hopes the CFL speedster will join his squad after the 2017 CFL campaign for the next sevens season.

“Which is exciting because he showed a lot of potential when we were training. And boy can he run. That would be a fantastic addition to the team.”

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press