Who says it's not healthy to dwell on misfortune? Canada, harbouring a glowing sense of injustice after a harsh refereeing decision in pool F cost them a potential Cup place, fed off that anger to scrap their way to their second consecutive Bowl title.
Crowd favourites Japan bore the brunt of Canada's frustration, going down 33-12 in a match in which they were never in contention.
Sean Duke starred with two tries, making it 17-0 and 24-5 either side of half-time. As he consumed some of the sponsor's ale from his prized silver tankard after the team's lap of honour, he admitted Canada were out to prove a point.
Their grievance stemmed from Saturday, when they looked set to drive over Australia's line after the hooter had sounded, only for the referee to blow for a bad feed at a scrum. Australia won 26-24 to condemn Canada to the Bowl.
'We definitely took out a bit of anger on the guys we played against - we thought we should have been in the Cup,' said the 22-year-old.
'What it came down to, at the end of the day, was the ref decided the game rather than the players. You don't call a feeding call after the hooter like that, I've never seen anything like it. It's not supposed to happen like that - the players should decide who wins.'
They did that yesterday, though it was never easy. First, France threatened an upset in the quarter-final, but Chauncey O'Toole and Ciaran Hearn - with captain Philip Mack, one of Canada's players of the tournament - helped to seal it 12-7.