Australia claim Tokyo 7s crown
Australia defeated Samoa 28-26 in dramatic fashion the final of the Tokyo Sevens to become the fifth Cup winners in the Sevens World Series 2011/12.
19-year-old Matt Lucas held his nerve to slot a long-range conversion in the dying seconds after his captain Ed Jenkins had crossed to level the scores.
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Cup:
Matt Lucas was one of four teenagers in Michael O’Connor’s Australia squad, which has grown in confidence and stature throughout the season.
Alafoti Fa’osiliva crossed first in the final but a quickfire Shannon Walker brace fired Australia into the lead and although Alatasi Tupou scored for Samoa the young Wallabies held a narrow lead at the break.
Damon Anderson stretched that lead in the second half but USA Sevens champions Samoa hit back twice through Fa’osiliva and Ken Pisi to nudge themselves ahead.
However, Australia were to have the final say, captain Ed Jenkins leading by example and diving for the line before Lucas capped a remarkable performance by striking the conversion clean through the posts for the win.
New Zealand now lead the Sevens World Series on 128 points, only six clear of Fiji. South Africa are third in 105, one ahead of England and four clear of Samoa in fifth. Australia’s lie in sixth place on 84.
Earlier the Australians put in a superb performance to beat first Wales and then England 33-12 in their semifinal, including 11 points from Allan Fa’alava’au.
Results:
Final
Australia 28-26 Samoa
Third-place play-off
England 17-24 New Zealand
Semifinals
England 12-33 Australia
Samoa 17-12 New Zealand
Quarterfinals
England 21-17 South Africa
Wales 14-21 Australia
Samoa 24-21 Fiji
New Zealand 40-5 Argentina
Plate :
Fiji held on to a 14-10 victory against South Africa in the Plate final to earn crucial points towards their Series total.
Waisea Nayacalevu and Nikola Matawalu scored Fiji’s tries, but it was two missed conversions by South Africa’s Renfred Dazel which proved the difference.
Earlier two Stephan Dippenaar tries help South Africa book their place in the Plate final by beating Wales 22-10. Paul Treu’s side will face Fiji after the islanders defeated Los Pumas 21-14.
Results:
Final
South Africa 10-14 Fiji
Semifinals
South Africa 22-10 Wales
Fiji 21-14 Argentina
Bowl:
France lift the Bowl trophy in Tokyo after beating USA 17-12 in the final thanks to tries from Manoel Dall Igna, Paul Albaladejo and Renaud Delmas.
Les Blues booked their place in the final after beating Hong Kong 26-15 in the first semi whilst Alex Magleby’s side beat Portugal 20-10.
Earlier, the European side beat Scotland 22-19 in the day’s opening match to book their place in the Bowl semi finals. Sean Kennedy scored twice for Graham Shiel’s side but a last second try from Jean Baptiste Mazoue snatched victory for the French.
Hong Kong set up the match with Les Blues after overturning a 5-0 deficit at half time against Russia to win 17-12. Alex McQueen scored their first try in the second half, before Vladimir Ostroushko regained Russia’s lead.
McQueen’s brother Tom then came off the bench to score two tries, including one with the match look set for sudden death extra time as the buzzer sounded.
Portugal beat Japan for the third time in a week, running out 21-5 winners against the hosts before Rocco Mauer’s second half try secured a 12-7 victory for USA against Kenya.
Results:
Final
France 17-12 USA
Semifinals
France 26-15 Hong Kong
Portugal 10-20 USA
Quarterfinals
France 29-19 Scotland
Russia 12-17 Hong Kong
Portugal 21-5 Japan
USA 12-7 Kenya
Shield:
Scotland beat Kenya 26-12 in the Shield final to lift the first piece of silverware at the 2012 Tokyo Sevens.
In the semi finals James Fleming’s late second try snatched a 21-19 victory against Russia in the semi finals, whilst Humphrey Kayange’s second try also secured a dramatic 24-17 win over hosts Japan.
Results:
Final
Scotland 26-12 Kenya
Semifinals
Scotland 21-19 Russia
Japan 17-24 Kenya
