Canada Sevens: Blitzboks to face Argentina in quarterfinal
The opening day at the Canada Sevens saw Spain produce the surprise of the day, beating New Zealand for the first time in their history.
England and South Africa went undefeated, winning all three pool matches at a packed BC Place, whilst Argentina, France, Fiji and USA are runners-up in their pools with two wins.
Cup quarter-finals on day two open with South Africa v Argentina at 11:08 (GMT -7), followed by New Zealand v Fiji, England v USA and Samoa v France.
It was a day of upsets with France coming from behind to take down Australia and reigning HSBC Canada Sevens champions Fiji, downed by the hosts 26-19.
Fiji needed to beat Samoa in their final match to reach the Cup quarter-finals, ultimately claiming a 31-17 win. Their spot in tomorrow’s quarter-finals came at the expense of Canada, who missed out on points difference.
The Blitzboks cruised past Chile with Pretorius, Siviwe Soyizwapi and Selvyn Davids all scoring two tries each. They fell behind to Wales after just a minute but captain Philip Snyman, Davids and Pretorius all hit back to beat the British side. USA had found it easier going against Wales with Carlin Isles scoring a hat-trick in a six-try victory.
Invitational side Chile fought admirably against USA (19-33) and Wales (12-19) but finished bottom of Pool A with three defeats. The South American champions led their North American counterparts 19-7 at half-time, Benjamin De Vidts twice beating speedster Isles on the outside with Rodrigo Fernandez also crossing the whitewash. But Isles hit back with a double of his own as USA emerged victorious.
🤭 There’s an obscene amount of skill in this @Blitzboks try. How good is Selvyn Davids? #Canada7s pic.twitter.com/myLTpVtovF
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 9, 2019
When your mate won't leave the takeaway…#Canada7s pic.twitter.com/3vQnQ0j8ZR
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 9, 2019
It was a day of upsets at a sold-out BC Place. Earlier, France had come from behind to take down Australia. Henry Hutchison put Australia ahead before Les Blues missed two opportunities to score, with Samuel Alerte dropping the ball on the try line and Stephen Parez being set through with a forward pass. But Pierre Gilles Lakafia, Pierre Mignot and Remi Siega all dotted down to claim victory.
Incredible scenes as @ferugby bench celebrate Pol Pla scoring in the final moments to beat New Zealand for the first time ever #Canada7s pic.twitter.com/wd1iawnKpJ
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 9, 2019
France joined New Zealand in the Cup quarter-finals with a 26-10 win against Spain, consigning their fellow Europeans to the Challenge Trophy.
In the day’s other surprise, reigning Canadian champions Fiji were downed by the hosts 26-19. Matt Mullins and Connor Braid helped put Canada 12-0 ahead before Terio Veilawa and Sevuloni Mocenacagi drew Fiji level. An exchange of tries took the score to 19-19 before Nathan Hirayama skipped through the defence and allowed Harry Jones to dot down and secure Canada’s fifth win over Fiji in 52 attempts.
Fiji needed to beat Samoa in their final match to reach the Cup quarter-finals, ultimately claiming a 31-17 win. Jerry Tuwai and Veilawa scored second-half tries to put the game out of Samoa’s reach, having earlier put six tries past Kenya. Their reward is a clash with New Zealand tomorrow.
Their spot in tomorrow’s quarter-finals came at the expense of Canada, who missed out with an inferior points difference. Connor Braid’s hat-trick helped them beat Kenya but the 36-21 scoreline wasn’t enough to earn a top-two place.
Samoa had earlier cruised past Canada, running in six tries as they downed the hosts 38-7. A pair of tries each for Joe Perez and Alamanda Motuga helped them breeze past Kenya as Samoa topped Pool C. They will play France in the fourth quarter-final on Sunday.
RE:LIVE: Fiji playing the Fiji way.@fijirugby's Naduva and Tuwai combine to score excellent team try at the #Canada7s#DHLRugby pic.twitter.com/FyopE5JS18
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 10, 2019
England topped Pool D with three wins from three, clinching a quarter-final against USA with a 33-14 win against Argentina. Tom Bowen scored the pick of England’s five tries, created by Harry Glover’s casual no-look offload out of the back of the hand to the wing. A 21-7 win against Scotland in the day’s opening match and Ryan Olowofela’s double against Japan set up England’s perfect record.
That's just so good.@EnglandRugby's Harry Glover throws ridiculous no look pass and Tom Bowen races to 35 kmph to finish brilliant team try #Canada7s pic.twitter.com/fcv8eS6euu
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 10, 2019
Los Pumas Sevens join them in the quarter-finals, racking up nine tries against Japan and Scotland to set up the decider for top spot.
