Try fest opens Dubai Sevens
The usual suspects each bagged victories, although defending Series champions Fiji were made to work hard to bag a narrow victory over Canada in Pool A. Wales scored a late converted try to defeat Argentina in the other Pool A match.
In Pool B, South Africa got off to the perfect start with a near-faultless display against Uganda while Scotland edged favourites USA.
Pool C saw DJ Forbes cap his 80th tournament with a try as New Zealand beat Russia while England ensured a victory of their own against Samoa.
France captain Terry Bouhraoua was the catalyst in getting his side over the line against Kenya in Pool D while Japan came agonisingly close to defeating Australia.
All the results!
Pool A
Fiji 26-19 Canada
Fiji took a comfortable lead before Canada came storming back to launch a late fight back to level matters at 19-19. However, Damian McGrath's men ran out of steam in the final play of the contest to concede the match 19-26.
Wales 21-19 Argentina
Argentina looked to have a stranglehold on proceedings and thought they had the match in the bag when Wales were down to six men following a yellow card. However, the Welsh dug deep in the dying seconds to score a crucial try which levelled the scores. The successful conversion ensured a 21-19 victory.
Pool B
South Africa 46-0 Uganda
The Blitzboks, who claimed the bronze medal at Rio 2016, made the ideal start to the 2016-17 series when they ran in eight tries to record a 46-0, the biggest margin of the first round, dismantling of Uganda.
USA 5-14 Scotland
The United States headed into the encounter as favourites but a determined Scotland stopped them in their tracks. Scotland managed to churn out a hard-fought 14-5 victory.
Pool C
England 19-7 Samoa
Samoa showed plenty of promise in their opening encounter, however, the pace of
New Zealand 26-5 Russia
DJ Forbes capped a record appearance with a try as he helped New Zealand claim a comfortable 26-5 victory in their opening match against Russia. New Zealand would have hoped to retain a clean sheet but the Russians grabbed a consolation score in the second half to avoid the whitewash.
Pool D
Kenya 14-24 France
Kenya's Nelson Oyoo scored the first try of the Dubai Sevens tournament, but France captain Terry Bouhraoua scored his 98th and 99th Sevens career tries as Les Bleus came from behind to win 24-14.
Australia 19-14 Japan
World Sevens Rookie of the Year Henry Hutchison scored a cracking first half double as Australia made a winning start over Japan, who replace Portugal as a core team for the 2016-17 series.
