![LV= Cup [Anglo-Welsh]](images/LV Cup 2011 SB.jpg)
VANCOUVER 7s 2017
ENGLAND won gold and their second tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series after beating South Africa 19-7 in a convincing performance in Vancouver.
Simon Amor's side beat the Blitzboks for the second time in six tournaments and are the only side on the series to topple Neil Powell's outfit in the 2016-17 series. The victory puts them into second overall in the series table on 103 points, 23 behind South Africa who remain top of the pile with four tournament wins out of six. Back-to-back series champions Fiji drop to third in the standings (100 points) after a close 28-24 win over USA in the Bronze final.
Speedster Dan Norton was one of the stand-out players of the tournament, winning the DHL Impact Player award, HSBC Player of the Final and also went level with Collins Injera for all-time tries on the world series, having notched up 244 in total during his illustrious career.
"We fought hard over the week and it was not the prettiest at times but we knew if we scrapped for everything over the two days we could be in with a chance," he said.
"Sevens can be unforgiving. We've played well at times this season and have not come away with wins so it's nice to get reward for our efforts. We've still got a way to go on the series so we will cherish this moment but know we have to keep pushing for Hong Kong."
England had met South Africa on day one in the pool stages, finishing up all square on 12-12, but the final was a different spectacle. Siviwe Soyizwapi kicked off proceedings for the Blitzboks, scoring his fourth try of the weekend with less than a minute on the clock. Richard de Carpentier got England right back in it though with South Africa exposed on the edge, the big forward taking on the more nimble Rosko Specman to make things level at half-time, 7-7.
England playmaker Dan Bibby, who had been on song all weekend at BC Place, finished a great individual chip and chase to put England ahead, with the conversion from Mitchell making it 14-7. Norton himself finished in the left corner to make it 19-7 and take his individual tally in Vancouver to seven tries.
RSA 14-10 USA Mike Friday's USA side started the match with a thundering run from Martin Iosefo, who barrelled over to give the North Americans first advantage. A missed conversion from Madison Hughes allowed South Africa a chance at taking the lead going into the break, which captain Philip Snyman accepted when he went over from close range. Cecil Afrika’s conversion made it 7-5 at half-time.
Andrew Durutalo made the most of an overlap on the right and has the pace to get the better of the Snyman to slam it down and make it 7-10, following the missed conversion from Hughes. However, the menacing Specman had something left in the tank after his blistering performances over the weekend, and went through the gears to tear away from Durutalo with a nice stutter-step. Afrika’s conversion added the extras.
ENGLAND 40-7 FIJI Fiji started with typical Pacific island flair and when Vatemo Ravouvou broke down the right side it looked like they would begin their charge towards the Cup final, but Norton managed to get hold of the ball and sprint from his own half to get the first try for England. It was Norton who was instrumental in England's second score also as he set up Phil Burgess on a switch pass to go under the posts, and then England's highest ever try scorer went in for his second of the match, making it England 19-0 Fiji at half-time.
Bibby picked the ball up in midfield early on in the second half and went over for England's fourth try, before chipping over for Tom Mitchell to score. With under three minutes left England were up 33-0, a huge margin against a team such as Fiji but there was more to come. Will Edwards added another for England before Fiji finally retorted with a score from Osea Kolinisau. A huge 40-7 defeat for Fiji as England marched on into the final.
SOUTH AFRICA 36-7 CANADA With two pool wins on day one Damian McGrath's Canada went into their Cup quarter-final with confidence, but facing a Blitzboks side in imperious form it was always going to be a tough ask.
Within 40 seconds Specman had turned on the afterburners to put the Blitzboks ahead. A long floated pass from Afrika to Soyizwapi extended the lead to 12-0 with just over two minutes gone. A precise set move from Canada opened up the South Africa defence to let Justin Douglas in for a try, making it 12-7 with under a minute to go thanks to the accurate kicking of Nate Hirayama. However the Blitzboks were not done as Chris Dry added another score making it 17-7 at half-time.
Four minutes left on the clock, the Blitzboks broke down the left win through Branco du Preez, who offloaded to Afrika for the next try of the match and the momentum began to swing heavily in South Africa's favour. A second try from Soyizwapi and a final score for Sandile Ngcobo made the final score 36-7.
USA 14-12 ARGENTINA An easy run-in try for Bautista Delguy gave Argentina a perfect start in their Cup quarter-final match. A set move from a USA scrum on the Argentina 10 metre line gave Iosefo a chance to break through the gap and set up Perry Baker, who went in under the posts to make it 7-7 with two minutes left in the first half. Matias Osadczuk finished broke through the USA defence late on in the half to make it 12-7 going into the break.
Powerhouse Danny Barrett used his immense strength to put USA in front with one of his trademark fends and it was the kick from Hughes that clinched the match, slotting the drop goal over from in front of the posts to make it 14-12 and secure them a semi-final showdown with South Africa.
NEW ZEALAND 12-14 ENGLAND In a repeat of their Las Vegas quarter-final, in which England lost 19-0, England started quickly out of the blocks through Bibby's try, the Wigan-born player beating the tackle of DJ Forbes to make it 0-7 after the added extras from Tom Mitchell. Forbes got his own back in the second half, powering down the left side to beat two defenders and bundle in at the corner. At 5-7 to England with just under four minutes left, Ruaridh McConnochie darted and jinked to break through the tackle of Sione Molia and go in from 20 metres out. A late score from Scott Curry was not enough as the hooter had sounded, but England exacted their revenge after a disappointing performance the previous weekend in Las Vegas.
FIJI 28-10 AUSTRALIA Nick Malouf got the Australians off to a flyer when he rolled over from a breakdown close to the Fiji line. The missed conversion made it 0-5 to Australia, but Jerry Tuwai was about to show his electric feet and ran a try in from his own half down the left side. With the conversion good, it was Samisoni Viriviri who then provided Masivesi Dakuwaqa with the offload for him to go under the posts. 14-5 at the beginning of the second half quickly became 21-5 after a try from Apisao Domolailai and conversion from Ravouvou. Waisea Nacuqu came on for Tuwai and scored immediately for Fiji to make it final score, 28-10.
CANADA have secured a spot in the Cup quarter-finals of their home tournament in Vancouver after a string of solid performances on day one at a packed out BC Place Stadium.
Damian McGrath's side put on a show in front of almost 40,000 fans, taking two pool wins from three and narrowly losing out to New Zealand by just one point in their final match. They will face series leaders South Africa in the last eight, guaranteeing themselves a better finish than at last year's Canadian leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, where they finished ninth.
Fellow North Americans USA were one of two sides to clock up three wins from three in the pool stages and will face Argentina in the Cup quarter-finals, a side who caused one of the upsets of the day when they beat Fiji for the first time since 2012.
England, tournament winners in Cape Town last December, will face a so far undefeated New Zealand side in their Cup quarter-finals, a repeat of Las Vegas where the All Blacks Sevens came out on top 19-0. Back-to-back series champions Fiji will play Australia in the fourth Cup quarter-final.
POOL A
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3 
4 
The Blitzboks, fresh from their fourth tournament win of the series in Las Vegas, started out with a 33-0 win over Chile with Dylan Sage showing his quality once more scoring two tries. A 15-5 win against Kenya, with tries from Rosko Specman, Chris Dry and Ruhan Nel, set up a showdown for top spot in Pool A with England, a team they lost to in the Cape Town final last December. Dan Norton scored twice for England, while Specman and Sage continued to clock up tries for South Africa, and at full time it was 12-12, enough for South Africa to take top spot in Pool A.
England's match against Kenya earlier in the day stretched Simon Amor's side to the limits, but Dan Bibby and Norton were able to score a try apiece to take the game away from the, finishing up 28-14. Four tries for England against Chile made it 26-0, while the South Americans almost securing their first win on the series since 2008 when they narrowly lost to Kenya 26-19.
POOL B
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2 
3 
4 
Despite not achieving a clean sweep of wins in Pool B, Gareth Baber's Fiji side were in fine fettle on the attacking front, scoring six tries against Wales in their 34-19 victory. Their match against Samoa proved trickier than expected with Gordon Tietjens' side managing to stay on level terms until a late try from Setareki Bituniyata and conversion from Vatemo Ravouvou put the game out of touch 19-12.
Apart from their historic win over Fiji, Argentina had their work cut out against Samoa but a hat-trick of tries from Matias Ocsaduk proved crucial in them taking the three points. Against Wales, it looked business as usual for Gomez Cora's side when they went 14-0 up but a stunning comeback from the Welsh left the game 14-21, as Ben Roach scored the winner. Wales also beat Samoa 21-14, thanks mainly to a double try from Cory Allen, but it was not enough to take them through the pool on points difference.
POOL C
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3 
4 
USA began their campaign in Vancouver with a convincing eight-try haul against Japan to win 52-0. Martin Iosefo's two tries in their 31-19 win against France made sure they qualified from the pool but it was their 29-5 unpicking of Australia that confirmed their top spot in Pool C.
Head coach Andy Friend's Australia side scraped past France with a late winner from Ed Jenkins, to take victory 12-7. A hat-trick from Liam McNamara against Japan helped them notch up a 36-7 win. Japan fought hard in their final pool match against France, but eventually went down 31-19 to remain bottom of the group.
POOL D
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3 
4 
Four converted tries gave Canada their opening 28-15 win of the day against Scotland, with Nate Hirayama's kicking on point. Powerhouse Adam Zaruba was on song against Russia, scoring three tries in their 26-5 win but in the final match
The All Blacks Sevens put 40 points past Russia with no reply and beat Scotland convincingly 33-12 with Ambrose Curtis making an emphatic return with two tries.
SATURDAY 11th MARCH 2017 |
|||||||
1 |
09:30 |
AUSTRALIA |
12-7 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
2 |
09:52 |
USA |
52-0 |
JAPAN |
POOL C |
||
3 |
10:14 |
ARGENTINA |
24-19 |
SAMOA |
POOL B |
||
4 |
10:36 |
FIJI |
34-19 |
WALES |
POOL B |
||
5 |
10:58 |
ENGLAND |
28-14 |
KENYA |
POOL A |
||
6 |
11:20 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
33-0 |
CHILE |
POOL A |
||
7 |
11:42 |
CANADA |
28-15 |
SCOTLAND |
POOL D |
||
8 |
12:04 |
NEW ZEALAND |
40-0 |
RUSSIA |
POOL D |
||
9 |
13:06 |
AUSTRALIA |
36-7 |
JAPAN |
POOL C |
||
10 |
13:28 |
USA |
31-19 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
11 |
13:50 |
ARGENTINA |
14-21 |
WALES |
POOL B |
||
12 |
14:12 |
FIJI |
19-12 |
SAMOA |
POOL B |
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13 |
14:34 |
ENGLAND |
26-0 |
CHILE |
POOL A |
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14 |
14:56 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
15-5 |
KENYA |
POOL A |
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15 |
15:18 |
CANADA |
26-5 |
RUSSIA |
POOL D |
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16 |
15:40 |
NEW ZEALAND |
33-12 |
SCOTLAND |
POOL D |
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17 |
16:36 |
FRANCE |
31-19 |
JAPAN |
POOL C |
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18 |
17:08 |
USA |
29-5 |
AUSTRALIA |
POOL C |
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19 |
17:30 |
SAMOA |
14-21 |
WALES |
POOL B |
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20 |
17:52 |
FIJI |
24-26 |
ARGENTINA |
POOL B |
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21 |
18:14 |
KENYA |
26-19 |
CHILE |
POOL A |
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22 |
18:36 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
12-12 |
ENGLAND |
POOL A |
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23 |
18:58 |
SCOTLAND |
10-12 |
RUSSIA |
POOL D |
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24 |
19:20 |
NEW ZEALAND |
15-14 |
CANADA |
POOL D |
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SUNDAY 12th MARCH 2017 |
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25 |
09:30 |
KENYA |
19-17 |
SCOTLAND |
CT QF |
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26 |
09:52 |
FRANCE |
21-26 |
SAMOA |
CT QF |
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27 |
10:14 |
RUSSIA |
0-10 |
CHILE |
CT QF |
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28 |
10:36 |
WALES |
33-0 |
JAPAN |
CT QF |
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29 |
11:08 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
36-7 |
CANADA |
CUP QF |
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30 |
11:30 |
USA |
14-12 |
ARGENTINA |
CUP QF |
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31 |
11:52 |
NEW ZEALAND |
12-14 |
ENGLAND |
CUP QF |
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32 |
12:14 |
FIJI |
28-10 |
AUSTRALIA |
CUP QF |
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33 |
12:46 |
SCOTLAND |
28-21 |
FRANCE |
13th PL SF |
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34 |
13:08 |
RUSSIA |
0-21 |
JAPAN |
13th PL SF |
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35 |
13:30 |
KENYA |
7-26 |
SAMOA |
CT SF |
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36 |
13:52 |
CHILE |
5-14 |
WALES |
CT SF |
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37 |
14:24 |
CANADA |
5-12 |
ARGENTINA |
5th PL SF |
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38 |
14:46 |
NEW ZEALAND |
21-0 |
AUSTRALIA |
5th PL SF |
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39 |
15:08 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
14-10 |
USA |
CUP SF |
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40 |
15:30 |
ENGLAND |
40-7 |
FIJI |
CUP SF |
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41 |
16:12 |
SCOTLAND |
24-19 |
JAPAN |
13th PL PO |
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42 |
16:37 |
SAMOA |
12-19 |
WALES |
CT FINAL |
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43 |
17:07 |
ARGENTINA |
14-17 |
NEW ZEALAND |
5th PL PO |
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44 |
17:52 |
USA |
24-28 |
FIJI |
BRONZE |
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45 |
18:19 |
|
|
7-19 |
|
ENGLAND |
CUP FINAL |
SOUTH AFRICA
POOL A |
POOL B |
POOL C |
POOL D |
After the thrills of Las Vegas, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series moves on to Vancouver and, with the draw now complete, there will undoubtedly be a number of closely fought pools to enjoy. USA Sevens winners South Africa will top Pool A but will not have an easy run through to the Cup quarter-finals as a tricky group awaits them on the west coast of Canada.
Former England Sevens player Rob Vickerman commented on the pool draw: “Pool A is a tasty one with South Africa and England but also Kenya as a team that can create some upsets. They often seem to play well against England, in particular, so that will be a match to look out for.”
Elsewhere, runners-up in Las Vegas Fiji top a pool with a resurgent Argentina side, Samoa and Wales – no easy games there – while a buoyant USA outfit take on Australia, France and Japan in Pool C.
Vickerman added: “Pool D is another really interesting group. The pressure for the home team can go one of two ways. We can see a galvanised performance as we saw by bronze medal winners USA in Las Vegas or sometimes the pressure to perform can be too much for a team. I’m looking forward to seeing the home crowd get behind Canada and I hope the fans get something to cheer about.
“Scotland are the third team in that pool. By their own admission, they underperformed in Las Vegas and they will be looking forward to stepping up next week. All around, it’s a pretty even spread. These tournaments are so difficult to call and quite often we see the fourth seed in the pool ending up winning it. So, we are looking really looking forward to Vancouver. It should be competitive and another exciting leg.”
ALL 16 captains for the HSBC Canada Sevens were involved in the ceremonial puck drop at a National Hockey League game between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
On what was a special occasion for the 16 men, they lined up on the ice at the Canucks’ home rink in Vancouver with home skipper Harry Jones and Philip Snyman of series leaders South Africa dropping the puck between the two hockey captains on the night, Henrik Sedin of the Canucks and the Islanders’ John Tavares.
The players then turned towards the flags of the USA and Canada as ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and ‘O Canada’ played across the huge indoor auditorium in downtown Vancouver.
Jones said: “It was pretty exciting for us tonight. I did not think I’d ever be out on the ice singing the national anthem before an NHL game but it was great to be able to do that. It has got me fired up for the weekend and if the reaction tonight is any indication of what it’s going to be like this weekend then it’s going to be very special.”
Indeed, while all 16 captains received warm applause when their names were called, the biggest cheer was reserved for Jones, possibly a sign of things to come this weekend when the rugby kicks off at BC Place, just across the road from the hockey arena.
THE final squads for the HSBC Canada Sevens have been announced as the hosts aim to build on their Bowl final win at the tournament last year.
Damian McGrath's Canada side go into the competition having reached the Cup quarter-finals of the HSBC USA Sevens in Las Vegas last weekend, eventually losing out to Fiji 31-12. They ended up seventh overall after a 12-5 fifth place semi-final loss to England. However with 76,000 rugby-mad fans expected to pack out BC Place in Vancouver over the weekend, McGrath is confident of some big performances from his side.
Canada will play inPool D with New Zealand, who have made one big change to their squad by bringing in speedster Ambrose Curtis for Andrew Knewstubb who becomes head coach Scott Waldrom's 13th man. Scotland have also brought back Glenn Bryce into the setup for Tom Brown, while Russia complete the pool and have brought Timur Urazakov into the starting 12.
In Pool A, series leaders and Las Vegas champions South Africa will be without Justin Geduld, who is replaced by Stedman Gans. England, who were beaten convincingly 19-0 by New Zealand in the Cup quarter-finals in Las Vegas, make just one change with Charlton Kerr coming in for Oliver Lindsay-Hague. Kenya's Billy Odhiambo moves to 13th man as Oscar Ayodi starts in the named 12, while Chile give the 12 shirt to Vicente Ayarza, with Martin Raddatz moving in to replace Bernardo Moltedo.
Back-to-back series champions Fiji will be without Joeli Lutumailagi in Pool B, a player who has scored 19 tries so far this series. Santiago Gomez Cora's Argentina remain unchanged, while Samoa are without former captain Faalemiga Selesele who is replaced by Elisapeta Alofipo. The big change for Wales will be the return of Cory Allen, who slots in for Morgan Williams.
Mike Friday's USA is unchanged after reaching the Cup semi-final in Las Vegas, where they were beaten narrowly by eventual champions South Africa, 20-17. Australia's Sam Myers is out of the squad for Vancouver, as Tom Lucas takes over the captaincy. France wo not have the power of Pierre Giles Lakafia as he missed out on Vancouver, and Japan will also be without the pace of Kazuhiro Goya.
