CAPE TOWN Sevens: BlitzBoks sneak into play-offs
On a very poor opening day for the defending of the South African leg of the World Series, they edged England 10-0 in a feisty Pool B decider.
It means they will meat Australia in the Cup quarterfinals on Sunday.
In the other pool deciders Fiji finished top of Pool A after a resounding 43-0 win over Argentina.
Australia topped Pool C after beating the United States 26-21 in their final match of the day.
Pool D was the most hotly contested of all, France and Canada playing to a 26-all draw and New Zealand scoring a dramatic 19-10 win Samoa to finish top of the pool.
Bowl quarterfinals:
(kick-off is local time – GMT plus two hours)
Scotland v Samoa – 10.36
Wales v Zimbabwe – 10.58
Canada v Russia – 11.20
England v Portugal – 11.42
Cup quarterfinals:
(kick-off is local time – GMT plus two hours)
Fiji v France – 12.04
Australia v South – 12.26
New Zealand v Argentina – 12.48
Kenya v United States – 13.10
* Earlier Canada and Kenya caused the first upsets at the Cape Town Sevens.
South Africa suffered a 12-14 loss to Kenya in their second match of the day.
The BlitzBoks – mostly through their own erroneous ways – could not match the Kenyans' physical and energetic defence.
Canada caused the other upset when they beat New Zealand 24-12 in their second match.
The injury ravaged Kiwis – who came into the tournament without a handful of key players – lost Declan O'Donnell and Joe Webber in their first match of the day.
Canada, who looked more energetic throughout the match, had just too much pace for the lethargic New Zealanders and deserved their 24-12 win.
In the first round of matches there were only one surprise – Kenya securing a 19-all draw against England, although the African team would be disappointed for allowing the English to score a try after the hooter for full-time had sounded – denying them a deserved win.
Defending World Series champions Fiji eased past Scotland (34-19) and Russia (52-0), Argentina demolished Russia 33-5 and edged a willing Scotland 19-13, hosts and defending Cape Town champions South Africa dismisses neighbours Zimbabwe 26-5 and then lost to Kenya, the United States accounted for Wales (26-19) and Portugal (52-7), Australia cruised past Portugal (45-0) but was made to work much harder for their 21-14 win over Wales.
We look at all the Day One action!
* For the latest pool standings CLICK HERE!
Pool A:
(Fiji, Argentina, Scotland, Russia)
Fiji hardly got out of second gear and Scotland put up just token resistance on the way to a 34-19 win for the Pacific Islanders. First-half tries by Jasa Veremalua (two) and Savenaca Rawaca gave the Fijians a 17-0 lead. From then on they eased off the gas and every time Scotland managed to cross the line the Fijians would respond with scores of their own to keep the margin comfortable.
Argentina versus Russia was another mismatch, the South Americans racing to a 33-5 against a team that was no match for their pace, power and Sevens skills. Four unanswered tries gave Argentina a 26-0 lead, before a late consolation score by the Russians. The Argentinians then rubbed salt into the festering wounds with a try after the full-time hooter.
Tries by Savenaca Rawaca, Nemani Nagusa and Vatemo Ravouvou gave Fiji a 19-0 lead at halftime, against a hopelessly outclassed Russian team that looked naive in their approach throughout the day. Sevuloni Mocenacagi continued the rout with the first try after the break and as the Russian defence tired Fiji ran in three more tries for a 52-0 victory.
Bautista Ezcurra opened the scoring for Argentina in the first minute, with James Johnstone replying five minutes later for Scotland – leaving the teams tied 7-all at the half-time break.Joaquin Riera got the Argentineans back in the lead, before Franco Sabato got a crucial score withjust over two minutes remaining. Scott Wight got the Scottish team back into the game with a converted try, but they ran out of time and Argentina advanced to the Cup quarterfinals with a 19-14 win.
Dmitry Sukhin and Vladislav Lazarenko scored for the Russians, before Lee Jones and James Farndale produced five-pointers to give Scotland a 14-10 lead at half-time. Scott Wight gave Scotland a 21-10 lead, before Mark Robertson put the result beyond doubt. There was enough time for Robertson to get a second in a 33-10 win.
Fiji are World Series champions for a reason. Savenaca Rawaca opens the Fijian account with a wonderful solo score from 70 metres out. The offloading game then takes centre stage with Argentina unable to compete with the quick hands from the men in white. Vatemo Ravouvou is on hand to score the second and Apisai Domolailai adds the third on the half-time hooter 19-0.Such was Fiji's domination, Argentina's first meaningful possession came deep in their own half with 90 seconds left on the clock. By that point the Fijians already racked up a 43-0 lead. Domolailai completes his hat-trick, a brace of penalty tries completes the humiliation while Alivereti Veitokani dots down in the corner in his debut tournament to add extra shine to the victory.
Results:
Fiji 34-19 Scotland
Argentina 33-5 Russia
Fiji 52-0 Russia
Argentina 19-14 Scotland
Scotland 33-10 Russia
Fiji 43-0 Argentina
Pool B:
(England, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe)
It took a dramatic try and conversion, after the hooter for full-time had sounded, for England to salvage a 19-all draw against crowd favourites Kenya. England took an early 7-0 lead, before a yellow card for kicking the ball away, opened the door for Kenya – who stormed into a 129-7 lead. England fought back with two late tries – with James Rodwell scoring the try and Dan Bibby slotting the angled conversion for a crucial draw.
South Africa, with their swarming defence, put the Zimbabweans under enormous pressure – allowing Juan de Jongh, Cheslin Kolbe and Justin Geduld to score tries for a 19-0 lead at half-time.After the restarts the BlitzBoks were guilty of some silly errors, allowing Rian O'Neill to open Zimbabwe's account. However, a Rosko Specman five-pointer soon restored South Africa's three-try advantage and secured a 26-5 win.
Alexander Davis and Alexander Gray scored for England in a first half against Zimbabwe where they dominated, but seldom went beyond second gear. It was a more energetic performance from England after the break – tries from Davis (his second), Dan Norton, James Rodwell, Josh Watkins and Thomas Bowen made it 43-0.
Seabelo Senatla's pace produced the opening score for South Africa, but Collins Injera hit straight back for Kenya. A lack of accuracy and some weird refereeing calls by New Zealander Matt O'Brien allowed William Ambaka to give the Kenyans a 14-7 lead at half-time. It did not help that players were making silly mistakes – Cheslin Kolbe and Juan de Jongh the biggest culprits. Showing more determination to take control of proceedings and not allow 50-50 calls by match officials to come into the equation, the BlitzBoks worked the ball wide to Chris Dry for the try after the break. Kolbe made another massive blunder when he lost the ball inches short of the line. The BlitzBoks had one last throw of the dice, but another handling error gifted Kenya a 14-12 win.
Collins Injera opened the scoring for Kenya against Zimbabwe, Bush Mwale and Lamech Odhiambo adding two more for a 17-0 half-time lead. Oscar Ayodi started the second-half scoring, with Leonard Mugaisi and Nelson Ooyo putting the seal on a commanding 36-0 win.
The game between South African and England had a spicy start – with Phil Burgess yellow carded for an off-the-ball charge and Juan de Jongh pouncing for the opening try. However, South Africa's shocking handling continued to cause problems and allowing England opportunities. The defence by both teams was fierce and the BlitzBoks hung on for a 5-0 half-time lead. Both teams turned up the heat after the break, but South Africa's handling error remained a major problem. A quickly taken tap-penalty allowed Ryno Benjamin to score a crucial try with just over two minutes remaining – 10-0. James Rodwell was then yellow carded for kicking out at an opponent and South Africa hung on for the win.
Results:
England 19-19 Kenya
South Africa 26-5 Zimbabwe
England 43-0 Zimbabwe
South Africa 12-14 Kenya
Kenya 36-0 Zimbabwe
South Africa 10-0 England
Pool C:
(United States, Australia, Wales, Portugal)
The United States had to come from behind to beat Wales 26-19 in the tournament's opening match. Earlier tries by Chris Knight and Luke Treharne gave Wales a 12-0 lead, before Carlin Isles and Madison Hughes went over to draw it level for the Americans right on half-time. Zac Test and Sam Cross then exchanged tries to make it 19-all, before Test scored the winner with just a minute left on the clock.
Australia were simply too good for the young Portuguese team, racing to a 45-0 win – the Portuguese simply having no answer to the pace and power of the Aussies.
Perry Baker started the rout for the United States against Portugal in their second match, and by the end of the 52-7 hammering Madison Hughes and Folau Niua had both scored hat-tricks in a very one-sided game.
Tries by Lewis Holland and Chris Knight had Australia and Wales tied at 7-all at the half-time break. Luke Treharne gave the Welsh the lead for the first time early in the second half,but the Aussies hit straight back through Greg Jeloudev. Henry Hutchinson scored what turned out to be the match-winner for the Aussies and a 21-14 victory.
Portugal continued to put up just token resistance on Day One – a penalty try, as well as five-pointers by Kristian Phillips and Ethan Davies gave Wales a 21-0 lead at the end of the first half. Further tries by Samuel Cross and Phillips (two more for his hat-trick) made it 40-0, before Vasco Batista got a late consolation score for Portugal.
Madison Hughes used his pace to open the scoring for the Americans, but Greg Jeloudev hit straight back for the Australians. Allan Fa'alava'au, who was yellow-carded earlier for kicking an opponent in the back, made amends for his thuggish behaviour by scoring the try that gave Australia a 14-7 lead at the half-time break. With the Aussies continuing to dominate the breakdown, Jeloudev got a second try in the match. The Yanks came back with a long-range try by Kevin Swiryn, but errors continued to blight the Americans' game.However, Carlin Isles then found some space on the right wing and beat the cover for a crucial score to level the scores up at 21-all. However, another American mistake allowed Henry Hutchinson to score the match-winner (26-21) – resulting in Australia topping the pool.
Results:
United States 26-19 Wales
Australia 45-0 Portugal
United States 52-7 Portugal
Australia 21-14 Wales
Wales 40-5 Portugal
United States 26-21 Australia
Pool D:
(New Zealand, Samoa, France, Canada)'
New Zealand – despite suffering another crippling injury, Declan O'Donnell going off on the mobile stretcher after injuring his knee without an opponent touching him – they still had enough in the tank to secure a hard-earned a 19-14 win. Dylan Collier and Samuel Dickson gave the Kiwis a 12-0 lead, before Julien Candelon pulled one back for France early in the second half. Dickson scored a second, but after being yellow carded and losing O'Donnell to injury Terry Bouhraoua got a second for the French. However, New Zealand hung on for the win.
Canada, making a rash of unforced errors, allowed Samoa to race into a comfortable 24-0 lead. The Canucks eventually scored two late consolation tries, but Samoa had done enough for a 24-10 win.
Nathan Hirayama and Phil Mack tries saw the Canadians race into an early 14-0 lead, before Dylan Collier eventually got New Zealand on the board in the sixth minute.However, John Moonlight got Canada's third try right on the half-time hooter for a 19-5 lead. DJ Forbes pulled on back for the Kiwis with three minutes remaining, but Moonlight sealed the 24-12 win with just over a minute left on the clock.
Pierre Lakafia opened with a try for the French, before Francis Ieremia got Samoa on the board. However, a back-to-back tries by Stephen Parez and Terry Bouhraoua gave France a 17-7 lead at half-time.Then Falemiga Selesele was yellow carded and with an extra man Virimi Vakatawa gave France a 22-7 lead.Phoenix Hunapo gave Samoa hope with a try four minutes from time and then Tila Mealoi closed the gap to 19-22 with just under a minute remaining. However, a mistake from the restart allowed France to hold on for the win.
In the tightest pool of the tournament, Virimi Vakatawa got the scoring in the decisive Pool D matches underway for France. Terry Bouhraoua added a second and Vincent Inigo the third as the French raced out to a 19-0 half-time lead. Justin Douglas got Canada on the board within a minute of the restart, with Phil Mack getting a second soon afterwards – narrowing the gap to 12-19. Sean Duke then got the try that levelled matters at 19-all, with two minutes remaining. Julien Candelon then scored what appeared to be the decisive try, but Canada – from the restart – scored through Admir Cejanovic to leave the game tied and for France to advance to the Cup section of the knock-out stages.
From the outset the encounter between New Zealand and Samoa was a physical contest, with Dylan Collier in the sin-bin after just three minutes. Despite being a man down, New Zealand opened the scoring through Augustine Pulu. A Samoan mistake – a very shoddy line-out – gifted Sam Dickson a second try for New Zealand.Siaosi Asofolau finally opened Samoa's account to make it 5-12 at the break. Samoa's high error and penalty count continued to climb after the break, with Dickson getting a crucial score three minutes into the second half (19-5). Lafaele Tullu Vaa got Samoa back into the game (10-19), but New Zealand hung on for the win.
Results:
New Zealand 19-14 France
Samoa 24-10 Canada
New Zealand 12-24 Canada
Samoa 19-22 France
France 26-26 Canada
New Zealand 19-10 Samoa
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