London Sevens: BlitzBoks face New Zealand in quarters
SATURDAY WRAP: The Springbok Sevens team will face New Zealand in the Cup quarterfinals of the London Sevens on Sunday at Twickenham.
South Africa, currently lying in second place in the series standings just four points behind Fiji, finished in top spot in Pool D despite a shock defeat to Samoa after securing victories over Canada and Russia.
This sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against New Zealand as the All Blacks Sevens defeated Scotland and Argentina to finish as runners up behind Fiji in Pool A.
Current World Rugby Sevens Series leaders Fiji were sublime in the London sunshine on day one claiming three straight victories against Argentina, Scotland and New Zealand to top Pool A. The Pacific islanders will face Pool D runners-up Canada in the first of tomorrow’s cup quarter-finals.
Hosts England finished the day in fine style in front of over 46 000 fans with a convincing 38-12 victory over Kenya to set up an exciting quarter-final against Australia with another huge crowd expected at Twickenham Stadium tomorrow. Australia impressed on day one with a perfect record of three victories over Ireland, Wales and Spain to top Pool B.
USA topped pool C following wins over England and France and a draw with Kenya. The USA Eagles were helped on their way by top try scorer Carlin Isles who showed his pace to overtake teammate Perry Baker as leading series try scorer with an outstanding six tries on day one in London, taking his overall series tally to 41.
The story of the day came from Pool B as Ireland made history by reaching the Cup quarter-finals for the first time ever. On their first appearance in the series since 2004, Ireland clinched second place in the pool courtesy of a comprehensive 38-10 victory over Spain. The Irish attack was led by 24-year-old Jordan Conroy who impressed on his series debut with four tries on day one.
Each round of the series sees one invitational team join the 15 core teams on the world series and Ireland’s success represents the first time a non-core team has reached the quarter-finals since Japan at Las Vegas in 2016.
Schedule:
(Kick-off time is local)
Cup Quarter-Finals:
Sunday, June 3
Fiji v Canada – 10.58
USA v Ireland – 11.20
South Africa v New Zealand – 11.42
Australia v England – 12.04
Results:
Saturday, June 2:
Samoa 0-14 Canada
South Africa 31-0 Russia
Spain 24-12 Wales
Australia 33-7 Ireland
New Zealand 24-12 Scotland
Fiji 28-19 Argentina
Kenya 19-19 USA
England 34-0 France
Samoa 17-29 Russia
South Africa 17-7 Canada
Spain 10-38 Ireland
Australia 20-12 Wales
New Zealand 36-5 Argentina
Fiji 39-12 Scotland
Kenya 24-21 France
England 14-31 USA
Canada 29-10 Russia
South Africa 12-21 Samoa
Wales 21-19 Ireland
Australia 28-22 Spain
Scotland 19-22 Argentina
Fiji 27-7 New Zealand
USA 38-14 France
England 38-12 Kenya
Source: @WorldRugby
