South Africa and New Zealand bounced back from a surprising start in Toulouse, beating their teams in Match Day 1 at Twickenham, while Fiji and Samoa finished top of their group. The captain of the Argentina series was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
- Argentina will not play in the quarterfinals after losing the final to Ireland
- South Africa and New Zealand lead their teams
- HSBC France Sevens champions Fiji continue their good game, winning by a third
- Spain advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time this season
- At the right time Samoa beat England to beat Group D.
South Africa and New Zealand returned to good form on day one of the London Sevens, while the betting for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens took another turn when the captains were eliminated from the Argentina group stage.
Boomas 7 topped the series for the first time last weekend following a surprise group stage exit to South Africa in Toulouse; They will not be in the top spot for long after falling behind in the fiercely competitive Group B of Blitzbox and fourth-ranked Ireland.
A dying attempt by Terry Kennedy ensured a 22-21 victory for the Irish team in the dramatic end of the group; The man who put the most effort into the series came out with an early hat-trick for the Los Puma Sevens
South Africa won all three of their matches and set up a high-stakes quarter-final against Australia, trailing by 6 points overall.
The Aussies, who finished second in Group C after New Zealand, showed relentless performance in recovering from defeat in France, where they failed to advance to the quarterfinals.
The All Blacks Sevens topped their group with three wins and will face Ireland in the quarterfinals.
Results of the HSBC London Sevens >>>
HSBC France Sevens champions Fiji failed to finish a quarter ahead of England in the 2021/22 campaign with a long shot to win the series title due to their unique scoring system, which counts the top seven results in nine out of nine.
Spain advanced to the first quarter of this season with victories over the United States and Wales.
They will face Samoa for a place in the last four, after the Samoans beat England in the last game and finished first in Group D with three-thirds wins.
Fijians keep flying
In Pool A, Fiji came to London as one of the favorite teams for the Cup crown after a fine run of two gold and one silver in their last three matches.
The Olympic champions, the champions of the London 7s in 2019, quickly proved their mettle when they tried six different players in a 38-17 victory at the start against Wales when they last played.
The Flying Fijians seem to like playing at Twickenham as that victory took their winning streak to 16 at the England National Stadium, which soon became 17 and then 18.
They recorded a 29-19 victory over an enthusiastic Spanish team, this time spreading the try load among five players and beating the United States with another display of talent and power.
Gaminieli Razaku started the scoring with an amazing try and they looked comfortable as the Fijians went 19-5 half time after dominating.
The United States bounced back with five minutes left in the second half when Perry Baker and Lucas Lockamp scored to make it 19-19.
Substitute Filibo Bucaro pierced the American defense, ran under the poles and regained the lead over Fiji, winning 26-19.
The Lions Sevens finished second and made their debut in the first quarter of the season with a convincing 26-10 victory over the United States and a 42-17 victory over Wales.
Blitzboks again
Group B got off to a great start when the two teams leading the series, Argentina and South Africa, clashed.
The game went on with a 14-7 lead during the South African break with a second leg mess.
James Murphy gave the Blitzboxes a 12-point lead, and a try from Electric Marcos Monetta and German Schulz allowed them to go into the Los Poomas 7s draw.
However, South Africa, who have not won a medal in the last three matches, kicked the winning try just in time given by Angelo Davids, Dowlt Human, ran under the poles and sealed a crucial victory.
The silver medalist from Ireland’s Toulouse escaped panic in their opening match, beating Kenya 17-14 with almost two minutes left in Kennedy’s try.
The Blitzboks then backed their previous victory by beating Ireland 19-12. When stars Jordan Conroy and Kennedy took the lead, the Irish responded to Jane Davids’ initial attempt, but the scores of Mfundo Nohlovu and Angelo Davids once again changed the game to give Neil Powell the win.
The Blitzpook finished third with a 24-21 win over Kenya, leaving Argentina, who had previously beaten Kenya 26-0, to face a resolution to finish second with Ireland.
In one of the most exciting games of the day, Kennedy’s Brace and Conroy’s effort gave Ireland a 17-0 lead. The Poomas Sevens showed their mettle again in the second half when Mathias Osatsuk, Marcos Monetta and Luciano Gonzalez scored to give Poomas a four-point lead.
However, a dramatic result came when Kennedy finished his hat-trick record and sent Ireland to the quarterfinals at the loss of their opponents and for immediate happy celebrations.
New Zealand turned strong
In Pool C, a one-day match between Australia and New Zealand began, with a surprise exit from the team stage in an attempt to avenge the loss after this match last weekend.
Joe Webber took the weekend’s first try and gave them a perfect start as two tries each were exchanged halfway through.
Caleb Tangidov and Nick Malouff gave Leroy Carter a 24-19 lead with two minutes left to equalize after the break.
The bronze medalists in Toulouse, France had to fight from behind to beat Canada 19-14 in their first match, but the All Blacks Sevens beat them 36-7 in their second match.
Ngarohi Mcgarvey-Black was the star of the match with a hat-trick and three changes, while Sam Dixon, Tangidov and Rokolisova added five runs before Nelson scored a consolation French try.
Got some bad news, Amanaki Nicole received a red card for a dangerous permit on a rug that got him a three-match ban, while Zion Molia suffered a calf injury and will not play.
However, New Zealand came out on top, beating Canada 40-14 to take the top spot.
Australia beat Canada 26-5, thanks to Corey Dool’s tremendous effort, who ran down the Canadian goalposts from behind his own places.
This set up a clash against France for second place, an in-form tool that immediately tried to get Australia ahead in the lead.
Goals from Nathan Lawson and Nick Maloff gave the Aussies a comfortable lead, but in the second half France replaced it with Aaron Grantidier and Joachim Trueball.
Ben Marin’s attempt calmed the Aussies’ nerves, and Truball’s second late attempt comforted Les Blues’s 28-19 defeat.
Samoa shock to England
In Group D, they enjoyed watching England make a spectacular comeback to secure an early victory over Scotland.
The Scots, champions in London in 2016 and 2017, took a 17-0 lead thanks to the efforts of Jordan Edmonds, Lee Jones and Rose McCann, who tried to put an end to eight consecutive defeats in the group stage.
They collapsed after the break as the hosts scored 19 unanswered points; Freddie Roddick and Tom Bowen scored on both sides of the penalty kick, which also sent Scotland captain Jamie Fordale into the pool of sin.
Samoa topped the group after finishing fourth in Toulouse and Vancouver, and got off to a great start, beating Japan 33-15.
They then benefited by disappearing back into Scotland; Edmonds and Forndale beat Scotland 12-0 at half-time against Samoa, making history repeat itself.
Neueli Leitufia sent Samoa back with a try early in the second half, and a superb tackle gave the Scottish substitute Alex Combs the yellow card, who immediately drew level from Steve Rimoni.
Melanie Madhava made a tough change to win 14-12. However, Scotland beat Japan 24-7 to end the long wait for a team victory.
England beat Japan 38-12 in the previous match, representing the tiebreaker in the final match of the day against Samoa.
The home team got off to a great start when backed by Jamie Adamson and Will Homer, but Paul Schalan converted it to 14-7 at half time.
Alex Davis’ attempt early in the second half extended England’s lead, but Samoa ended another day’s comeback.
Scanlon converted a second try just before the end of the first half with a goal from Wausa Afa and Uyana Zion to give Samoa a 26-19 victory.
Everyone’s view is on Super Sunday
The quarterfinals for ninth place begin Sunday’s action game with 09:30 a.m. local time ending at 10:36 p.m.
Next up, the Cup quarter-finals, Fiji and England start at 10:58, followed by New Zealand clashing with Ireland at 11:20.
Samoa vs Spain will decide the fourth semi-final at 12:44 before South Africa face Australia at 11:42 next.
The semifinals of Levels 13, 9 and 5 will be played between 12:36 and 14:26.
The two Cup semi-finals will be played at 14:53 and 15:15, respectively, followed by playoffs for 13th, 9th and 5th place.
With the bronze medal final at 17.28 over the weekend, the Cup final will be centered at 17.58.
That final eight
⁇ @fijirugby Against @ England rugby ⁇
⁇ @ AllBlacks7s Against Irish rugby ⁇
⁇ @ manusamoa7s Against @ferugby ⁇
⁇ LitBlitzboks Against Aussie7s ⁇
Quarterfinals land on Sunday from 10:58 am (local time)# London7s | # HSBC7s pic.twitter.com/IxA5yyzRQT
– World Rugby Sevens (@ WorldRugby7s) May 28, 2022
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