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WELLINGTON 7s 2017
SOUTH AFRICA claimed the third round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with a 26-5 win over in Fiji in a windy Wellington on Sunday.
In a replay of Saturday's Pool B encounter, the Blitzboks again beat the Fijians at the Westpac Stadium to cement their spot at the top of the series standings. Seabelo Senatla had a memorable weekend as he was named HSBC Player of the Final, DHL Impact Player, and became South Africa's top try scorer with 180 series tries.
Scotland finished in third place after beating Canada 28-22 in an epic bronze final, while Kenya won the Challenge Trophy after beating Australia 19-17 in a tense clash on a blustery evening in the New Zealand capital.
South Africa had not won in the Westpac Stadium since 2002 and they had to rally after Joeli Lutumailagi opened the scoring for Fiji, but speedster Senatla levelled minutes later. In the second half, Rosko Specman came off the bench to increase the South African lead before two tries from Ruhan Nel sealed their second tournament win this season.
Accepting his HSBC Player of the Final award, Senatla said: "I got burned early on (in the final) which doesn’t happen very often, but got back to my structure. It was all about keeping calm and starting again. We have a great bond, the players play for each other. We have one big happy family, and we put our bodies on the line for each other.”
Winning captain Philip Snyman said: "We are happy to get a first win since 2002 and it’s extra sweet after last year’s defeat in the final. Playing Fiji twice in one weekend doesn’t make it easier, but our defence system was great. Hats off to the guys and the coaching staff. It wasn’t zero tries, so there is definitely some work to be done before Sydney.”
Before the final, Canada ran Scotland close in a thrilling bronze medal encounter between two teams that impressed many spectators over the weekend. A superb hat-trick by James Fleming inspired Scotland, despite the efforts of a brave Canadian attack.
Fleming said: “It was an enjoyable game, it was a whole squad effort. We have been building for the last two years (with a) new coach, consistent squad, and (the tournament win last season in) Twickenham gave us belief. We’re looking forward to the next one. We are hitting quarters and semis consistently now and it is awesome to have the squad (that) we do.”
SEMI FINALS
The Scots showed promising signs in Dubai and Cape Town and were deserved semi-finalists in Wellington. They tore into the Fijians from the start and after more than two minutes of possession, they were rewarded with a try when George Horne cut Fiji open. The series champions then fired back courtesy of Kalione Nasoko after entering their opponent's 22 for the first time.
After scoring their try, Nasoko was sent to the bin for a high tackle and Mark Robertson made him pay with a nicely taken effort. The game went back and forth until Fiji seized control, and crucial tries from Veitokani and Lutumailagi sealed the 19-12 win.
Canada can be proud of their efforts this weekend but the men in red were no match for South Africa in the second semi-final. Two first half tries from Senatla and Kwagga Smith, along with a second half effort from Werner Kok put the game beyond Canada, despite Adam Zaruba's consolation try near the end.
Canada's Nate Hirayama was downbeat after the 21-5 defeat: “South Africa are so dangerous on attack, they turned us over and went on to score. They are the best team in the world for a reason. The wind here is crazy, I've played for a lot of years and never seen it like this.”
QUARTER FINALS
Old rivals England and Scotland got the first quarter final of the day underway in Wellington on Sunday, and while England got out of the blocks with a Dan Norton try, Jamie Farndale levelled before the impressive Gavin Lowe showed beautiful movement to find a gap and put Scotland ahead.
But it was a try saving tackle that secured the game for Scotland - Fleming raced across the field to stop a rampaging Phil Burgess who had the line at his mercy. A late try for England from Ollie Lindsay Hague was not enough and Scotland celebrated a spot in the semis.
Try scorer Lowe said: “That was an outstanding victory for us as we put a big emphasis on today to try and put ourselves into a good place. The work rate of the boys was outstanding. England beat us in the last tournament so we had a point to prove in this one.”
While the Olympic champions looked below par on day one, Sunday saw a pep in the step of the Fijians and hosts New Zealand had the dubious honour of being first out to face the series champions in the second quarter-final. Three unanswered tries from the Fijians in the first half made it very difficult for New Zealand to get a foothold in the match and the hosts went crashing out of the Cup, 26-10.
This was only the second time Canada have reached the last-eight stage in the world series, but they started this contest assuredly. They were helped when Argentina's Matias Osadczuk was shown a yellow card and their dominance was rewarded when Hirayama's pass picked out Zaruba in the last minute of the half for a score. Nicolas Menendez hit back for Argentina but tries from Fuailefau and Douglas saw Canada emerge victorious and with a semi-final spot against South Africa. Following that, the Blitzboks barely broke a sweat in the last quarter final of the day, scoring seven tries as they beat the French, 43-0.
"When the backs are doing their part the forwards don’t mind doing the hard graft if they’re going to put the fast guys away in the corner,” said South Africa's Chris Dry after the match.
"The backs and forwards are certainly doing that this season, and the results have been sublime."
THE summer sun shone brightly over Wellington on Saturday as hosts New Zealand went unbeaten and surprise package Canada made the Cup quarter-finals.
Having finished 13th in Dubai and Cape Town, the Canadians won all three of their pool matches against Wales, Scotland and Russia to set up a quarter-final against Argentina on Sunday.
The third round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series also saw South Africa top the "Pool of death", after beating Fiji, Australia and Japan on day one. They were one of four sides to maintain 100% records at the Westpac Stadium, with New Zealand, England and Canada progressing without a defeat.
The Cup quarter-finals on Sunday see England play Scotland, New Zealand face Fiji, Canada take on Argentina, while South Africa play France.
On a hot day in Wellington, highlights included England captain Tom Mitchell passing 1000 series points, Canada’s Harry Jones reaching 500, Scotland's Mark Robertson reached his 50th tournament while both Sam Cross and Pouli Teaupa lead the DHL Impact Player standings after a day of fierce action.
POOL A
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2 
3 
4 
Argentina started brightly in Wellington with a 17-12 win over Kenya, however the Shujaa Pride made up for that loss with a resounding 47-5 win over invitational team Papua New Guinea later in the day. Collins Injera, returning for Kenya said: “The first match is tough, but coming here I am trying to find my feet so let’s see how it goes, but it's good to be back. We need to look at our communication as a team.”
England continued their winning ways from Cape Town with victories over Papua New Guinea (40-0) and Argentina (26-7) before easing past Kenya (31-12) to ensure a quarter-final place on day two against the auld enemy, Scotland.
Captain Tom Mitchell, who tipped over the 1,000 points mark in Wellington, said: “We were trying to build through the day today. It’s been a long time since we last played and it was a case of getting through our rustiness early on. Scotland next - we know them very well and we are pretty close with them after training with some of them for (Team) GB. It’s always a fierce game with them.”
POOL B
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2 
3 
4 
Fiji's 26-12 victory over Australia was marred by a six match suspension for Nemani Nagusa for contact with the eyes of an opponent. However the Olympic champions picked themselves up and ran eight tries past Japan to secure a 56-0 victory.
South Africa also eased past Japan (33-0) and while Australia battled bravely, the Blitzboks were strong in defence during a 28-0 win at the Westpac Stadium.
The highlight of Pool B was the clash of the heavyweights, Fiji and South Africa, on Saturday evening. In a typically intense encounter, Fiji clawed their way back into the game to make it 17-12 during the second half, until a wayward Fijian offload made it's way into the hands of Seabelo Senatla who put the game beyond the series champions.
After the tough encounter, South Africa's playmaker Werner Kok said: "It was a great game and we were very happy with the win as Fiji are a great team. But we were very clinical and the guys played very well".
Elsewhere, Australia finally recorded a win in Wellington with a 33-12 win over Japan.
POOL C
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2 
3 
4 
The clash of New Zealand against Samoa grabbed headlines for the return of former New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens, this time in the blue of Samoa. However, his new charges have a lot of work to do to catch up with the All Black Sevens, with captain Scott Curry scoring two tries as they beat the Samoans, 33-7.
New Zealand impressed in that match and the subsequent 21-14 defeat of France, however interim head coach Scott Waldrom found room for improvement: “You can never be too happy. We did some good stuff, but then we switched off. We'll go through the video, but there is definitely room for improvement. The experienced guys are a lot happier, we’ve changed the way they play a bit, giving them more freedom.”
The last match of the evening saw the Americans stick with New Zealand until tries by Tim Mikkelson and Isaac Te Tamaki saw the home side run out 24-12 winners.
POOL D
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2 
3 
4 
The first surprise of the day came when Canada, who had disappointing finishes in both Dubai and Cape Town, beat Scotland 28-19 in Pool D, with the impressive Nathan Hirayama among the try scorers. The Canadians went on to deliver polished performances against Wales (28-5) and Russia (29-0) to justify a spot in Sunday's quarter-finals at the Westpac Stadium.
Coach Damian McGrath was satisfied with the performance on day one: “I can’t ask for more than three from three, but it was the work off the ball and our defence which impressed me.
"Last year the guys were nearly-men at almost every tournament. There is so much talent in the squad and we just need to believe it.”
Scotland completed more passes than any other side on this year’s series and that fluidity helped them get over their initial loss to Canada by recording wins against Russia (12-5) and Wales (31-7).
Speaking after the Welsh win, Scottish try scorer Gavin Lowe said: “We were brilliant out there, the boys pulled it out of the bag in that match. That was a key game to get into the quarters and we fronted up. After (Scotland's tournament win last season in) London we have the belief, we’re currently fourth in the world and that shows the work is paying off.”
SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2017 |
|||||||
1 |
11:00 |
WALES |
33 - 0 |
RUSSIA |
POOL D |
||
2 |
11:23 |
SCOTLAND |
19 - 28 |
CANADA |
POOL D |
||
3 |
11:46 |
FIJI |
26 - 12 |
AUSTRALIA |
POOL B |
||
4 |
12:09 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
33 - 0 |
JAPAN |
POOL B |
||
5 |
12:32 |
KENYA |
12 - 17 |
ARGENTINA |
POOL A |
||
6 |
12:50 |
ENGLAND |
40 - 0 |
PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
POOL A |
||
7 |
13:18 |
USA |
21 - 21 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
8 |
13:41 |
NEW ZEALAND |
33 - 7 |
SAMOA |
POOL C |
||
9 |
14:24 |
WALES |
5 - 28 |
CANADA |
POOL D |
||
10 |
14:47 |
SCOTLAND |
12 - 5 |
RUSSIA |
POOL D |
||
11 |
15:10 |
FIJI |
56 - 0 |
JAPAN |
POOL B |
||
12 |
15:33 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
28 - 0 |
AUSTRALIA |
POOL B |
||
13 |
15:56 |
KENYA |
47 - 5 |
PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
POOL A |
||
14 |
16:19 |
ENGLAND |
26 - 7 |
ARGENTINA |
POOL A |
||
15 |
16:42 |
USA |
24 - 12 |
SAMOA |
POOL C |
||
16 |
17:05 |
NEW ZEALAND |
21 - 14 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
17 |
18:00 |
RUSSIA |
0 - 29 |
CANADA |
POOL D |
||
18 |
18:26 |
SCOTLAND |
31 - 7 |
WALES |
POOL D |
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19 |
18:52 |
AUSTRALIA |
33 - 12 |
JAPAN |
POOL B |
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20 |
19:18 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
31 - 12 |
FIJI |
POOL B |
||
21 |
19:44 |
ARGENTINA |
41 - 14 |
PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
POOL A |
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22 |
20:10 |
ENGLAND |
31 - 12 |
KENYA |
POOL A |
||
23 |
20:36 |
FRANCE |
28 - 5 |
SAMOA |
POOL C |
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24 |
21:02 |
NEW ZEALAND |
24 - 12 |
USA |
POOL C |
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SUNDAY 29th JANUARY 2017 |
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25 |
11:00 |
KENYA |
24 - 5 |
RUSSIA |
CT QF |
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26 |
11:22 |
USA |
19 - 14 |
JAPAN |
CT QF |
||
27 |
11:44 |
WALES |
29 - 7 |
PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
CT QF |
||
28 |
12:06 |
AUSTRALIA |
17 - 14 |
SAMOA |
CT QF |
||
29 |
12:38 |
ENGLAND |
12 - 14 |
SCOTLAND |
CUP QF |
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30 |
13:00 |
NEW ZEALAND |
10 - 26 |
FIJI |
CUP QF |
||
31 |
13:22 |
CANADA |
17 - 12 |
ARGENTINA |
CUP QF |
||
32 |
13:44 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
45 - 0 |
FRANCE |
CUP QF |
||
33 |
14:16 |
RUSSIA |
15 - 5 |
JAPAN |
13th PL SF |
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34 |
14:38 |
PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
7 - 35 |
SAMOA |
13th PL SF |
||
35 |
15:00 |
KENYA |
19 - 12 |
USA |
CT SF |
||
36 |
15:22 |
WALES |
10 - 24 |
AUSTRALIA |
CT SF |
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37 |
16:32 |
ENGLAND |
0 - 24 |
NEW ZEALAND |
5th PL SF |
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38 |
16:54 |
ARGENTINA |
19 - 14 |
FRANCE |
5th PL SF |
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39 |
17:16 |
SCOTLAND |
12 - 19 |
FIJI |
CUP SF |
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40 |
17:38 |
CANADA |
5 - 21 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
CUP SF |
||
41 |
18:30 |
RUSSIA |
12 - 19 |
SAMOA |
13th PL PO |
||
42 |
19:00 |
KENYA |
19 - 17 |
AUSTRALIA |
CT FINAL |
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43 |
19:30 |
NEW ZEALAND |
12 - 17 |
ARGENTINA |
5th PL PO |
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44 |
20:00 |
|
28 - 22 |
CANADA |
BRONZE |
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45 |
20:30 |
|
|
5 - 26 |
|
SOUTH AFRICA |
CUP FINAL |
SCOTLAND
FIJI
POOL A |
POOL B |
POOL C |
POOL D |
WORLD RUGBY announced the pools for the third round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Wellington at the end of January.
The draw for the next stop on the series was made at the end of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens, which was won by England after a dramatic final against South Africa.
Cape Town winners England were drawn in Pool A with Kenya, Argentina and invitational team Papua New Guinea.
Dubai winners South Africa, who were narrowly beaten by England in Cape Town, are in a very tough Pool B, where they face Olympic champions Fiji, Australia and Japan.
After an impressive performance in the second round, where they finished with bronze, hosts New Zealand play USA, France and Samoa in Pool C in Wellington.
Pool D features Scotland who seek to improve on their fourth place finish in Cape Town, as well as Wales, Russia and Canada.
NEW ZEALAND will forever be associated with Lord of the Rings and with less than two days to go to the HSBC Wellington Sevens spectacular, the 16 captains channelled their inner Gandalf as preparations were finalised for the third round of the series.
Weta Workshop, which manufactured more than 48,000 props for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, hosted the captains as they posed for the media with props and famous statues from the movies. The trilogy was shot in many locations around New Zealand, including Wellington.
"I'm a fan of Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson (director) has done great work for New Zealand on the world stage," said All Blacks Sevens captain Scott Curry.
"I'm always excited for Wellington as obviously it's our only chance to play at home in front of family and friends. We've had some pretty good wins here and won the last three in a row, so we're hoping for a fourth.
"Obviously it's a bit of an interesting time for us, with a changing of the guard in terms of the coaching and a bit of a fresh start for us as a team. We're learning plenty of new stuff so hopefully we can improve on what we've done so far."
England’s Tom Mitchell, still buoyant from his side’s win in Cape Town in December, said his side are ready for a tough weekend at the Westpac Stadium.
"It's obviously a long break between Cape Town and Wellington so we tried to utilise that time to focus on the detail around attack and defence. Now the guys are excited to try to put that out on the field and get some results here in Wellington."
South Africa are top of the standings heading into Wellington, however the Blitzboks are still smarting from their 19-17 Cape Town final defeat at the hands of England in December. But they're not looking backwards and captain Philip Snyman is focused on the goals that he wants to achieve in 2017.
"We made it clear this year that we don't want any excuses and that we want to win the series. We played fantastic rugby in Dubai and in Cape Town but Wellington has always been difficult for us. But the guys are looking nice and sharp so hopefully if we can build on our momentum we'll have a good week here."
The final squads for the third round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series have been announced.
With South Africa leading the standings, competition is set to be fierce with the teams well rested after the December break.
England won the last round of the series, upsetting their hosts South Africa in Cape Town, with New Zealand claiming the bronze.
Australia, who host the next round of the series in Sydney, are hoping to improve on a disappointing finish in Cape Town and captain Sam Myers is ready for a tough pool, where his side face South Africa, Olympic champions Fiji and Japan.
"We had two weeks off (since Cape Town) but continued our own training programmes. We've had a few new boys come into the squad so it's been refreshing," said Myers.
"We came fifth in Dubai and 12th in Cape Town and so I think the key to sevens is consistency. We've focused on improvement and I think we're coming into this weekend quietly confident."
Wales captain Sam Cross is also feeling positive ahead of the weekend in Wellington.
"We had a good quarter-final performance at the last round against South Africa and I think we were a bit unlucky there," he said.
"We have a few new faces come into the group for Wellington and I think we have a good opportunity to win Pool D (against Scotland, Russia and Canada) and I think we have to set the stall high."
