Hong Kong Sevens: All Blacks claim gold, BlitzBoks end sixth
DAY THREE WRAP: Leroy Carter beat the dead-ball line and two defenders in a high-speed chase as New Zealand raced to a big early lead in the first half before Fiji – looking for consecutive win number 42 in Hong Kong – hit back from 90 metres out.
Cody Vai had opened the scoring with just 30 seconds on the clock as the All Blacks opened with a statement of intent in their first Hong Kong final since 2016, with Sione Molia doubling their try tally six minutes later, before Carter struck to take the score to 19-0.
Vuiviwa Naduvalu finished off a length-of-the-pitch riposte 60 seconds later to get Fiji on the board – but Nigardhi McGarvey-Black extended the All Blacks’ lead again to 24-7 before a breathless opening period ended.
Joseva Talacolo got Fiji’s second early in the second half – and a consolation third on the final whistle as New Zealand claimed their first Hong Kong title since 2014.
Bronze final: France third after a thriller
The competition had already exploded into life, to the delight of a large crowd at Hong Kong Stadium. Great Britain’s men were unable to repeat the medal-winning heroics of the women’s team, as they lost an enthralling encounter against France 19-17, Stephen Parez with the decisive score after an end-to-end encounter.
“It feels really good,” Jonathan Laugel said afterwards. “We’ve had some difficult games – all of them were really tough – but we showed consistency. I’m really proud of the guys, even though I would have preferred to play the next [match] against Fiji.”
Fifth place: Argentina’s Osadczuk uses his head to claim win
Meanwhile, South Africa could not secure the fifth spot as they went down to Argentina.
A moment of football-style genius/madness ended a slow-burn thriller between Argentina and South Africa. Scoreless for 12 minutes, the game exploded into life when Joaquin Pellandini touched down to give Argentina a 7-0 lead. Ricardo Duarttee crossed just before the final whistle for the Blitzbokke to take the score to 7-5.
South Africa needed to claim the restart as the clock ticked into the red. But they didn’t get the chance, as Matías Osadczuk headed the kick-off into touch to end the match.
Argentina had earlier ended Spain’s Hong Kong adventure with a workmanlike 19-0 win, while South Africa ran in six tries to beat USA 38-7.
Results:
Day One:
New Zealand 29-5 Kenya
Ireland 7-14 South Africa
Fiji 12-7 Samoa
Argentina 17-7 Canada
United States 0-7Spain
Australia 26-5 Japan
Great Britain 14-12 Uruguay
France 21-14 Hong Kong China
Day Two:
New Zealand 12-7 South Africa
Ireland 26-14 Kenya
Fiji 40-7 Canada
Argentina 26-19 Samoa
United States 31-0 Japan
Australia 12-7 Spain
Great Britain 33-12 Hong Kong China
France 17-14 Uruguay
Kenya 17-26 South Africa
Ireland 7-26 New Zealand
Samoa 29-5 Canada
Argentina 19-26 Fiji
Spain 31-7 Japan
Australia 5-24 United States
Uruguay 24-14 Hong Kong
Day three:
9TH PLACE QUARTERFINAL
Ireland 17 – 0 Canada
Uruguay 40 – 0 Japan
Samoa 26 – 12 Kenya
Australia 22 – 5 Hong Kong China
Cup Quarterfinals
New Zealand 24 – 10 Argentina
France 19 – 14 Spain
Fiji 10 – 7 South Africa
USA 10 – 21 Great Britain
13TH PLACE SEMIFINAL
Canada 19 – 12 Japan
Kenya 10 – 19 Hong Kong China
9TH PLACE SEMIFINAL
Uruguay 7 – 31 Ireland
Samoa 15 – 12 Australia
Argentina 19 – 0 Spain
5TH PLACE SEMIFINAL
South Africa 38 – 7 USA
CUP SEMIFINALS
France 7 – 12 New Zealand
Fiji 19 – 14 Great Britain
13TH PLACE PLAY-OFF
Canada 7 – 17 Hong Kong China
9TH PLACE PLAY-OFF
Samoa 17 – 19 Ireland
5TH PLACE PLAY-OFF
Argentina 7 – 5 South Africa
BRONZE FINAL
Great Britain 17 – 19 France
CUP FINAL
Fiji 17 – 24 New Zealand
