Canada's Sevens captain Maple, Marco Di Girolamo, played so impressively at the IRB South Africa Sevens in George SA that the South African media named him Player of the Day.

He played superbly as he led Canada to a near upset of perennial Sevens giants Fiji on the opening day of the Emirates Airlines South African Sevens in George, South Africa.

Before a crowd of over 5000 fans Canada had Fiji hanging on for their lives, and only a final seconds failed penalty goal attempt by Canada that slipped two feet wide of the posts saved the Islanders from defeat. Final score: Fiji 14 Canada 12.

"Marco was on fire," said Canadian coach Ric Suggitt. "He led by example all day especially in the Fiji game. At one point he broke through the Fijian defensive line, chipped ahead, and gathered his own kick before passing on to team-mate Shane Thompson. Shane passed to supporting forward Matt King who went into contact. A quick passing exchange between Quentin Fyffe and Matt Cohen resulted in a clear three meter run for Fred Asselin to score a sensational try."

Canada's second try was scored by Asselin and converted by Di Girolamo. "Today we had 65 seconds on continuous possession against Fiji so there is a level of confidence growing in this team," said Suggitt.

Game two - Canada vs Samoa

"Samoa was the better team," said Suggitt. "Despite having a player in the sin bin Samoa managed to contain us and score tries. Nevertheless, the Samoans will clearly remember who they were playing against! In these first two games I was so impressed with our tackling and commitment to the tackled ball. Matt King and Matt Cohen were outstanding in this regard, but losing Marco with a groin pull did not help our cause. This is a very good Samoa team at the moment and the fact that they got to the finals in Dubai was no accident."

Final Score: Samoa 22 Canada 0

Game Three - Canada vs Morocco

Jim Douglas took over as captain for the injured Di Girolamo for this game, and Canada started very well with Matt King taking two huge balls from kickoffs and that set the tone for the game. Ed Fairhurst got his first touch in this game and made some dramatic tackles on the frustrated Moroccans who reverted to some head butting fouls which were disciplined by the referee.

"Jim Douglas stepped forward in this game," said Suggitt. "When we have this type of unselfish commitment from players it speaks volumes for the character of the individuals on our squad. Everyone on this team is to be commended on their opening day's performance."

Try scorers: Fred Asselin (2), Shane Thompson and Matt Cohen Conversions: Ed Fairhurst 2

Final Score: Canada 24 Morocco 5

Di Girolamo is expected to play Saturday as Canada goes against the Arabian Gulf in the Bowl competition. Canada reached the Bowl final in Dubai a week earlier only to lose 17-14 to France.