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It’s safe to say Day One in Dubai did not go as planned for the three Americas teams taking part. Argentina, Canada, and the USA managed only two wins between them as they struggled to find their rhythm in their return to the HSBC Sevens Series. As such no Americas teams have qualified for the Cup final rounds.
After a promising start against Fiji that saw Canada tied with the Olympic champions until a last minute score, the Canucks dropped successive matches against Argentina and Wales in less convincing fashion. A Liam Underwood try made things interesting in the final minutes but Los Pumas looked a step ahead throughout. Wales, meanwhile, proved their Achilles heel once again as they scored 31 unanswered points against the rapidly tiring Canadians.
For Los Pumas the match against Canada would be their only win, though their defeats were of a completely different nature. The loss 21-19 loss to Wales was most disappointing after a Gaston Revol try had given Argentina a 19-7 lead in the 10th minute. It was Revol’s conversion of a Franco Sabato try that gave Los Pumas a 19-17 lead over Fiji with just a couple minutes to go. As they did against Canada, however, the champions proved their mettle and escaped with Joeli Lutumailagi crossing for the match winning score.
Meanwhile in Pool B the Eagles looked short of their best against Scotland and actually trailed Uganda 7-5 at the half before finally shifting up a gear. An improved performance came against tournament pace-setters South Africa but the USA will look for a big step up on Day Two.
The Blitzbokke look the team to beat heading into the knock-out stages with England and Australia also impressing. Fiji came through unscathed but looked casual and disinterested at times, a trait that former coach Ben Ryan was keen to stamp out in his tenure. New Zealand, Wales, Scotland, and France also qualified for the Cup finals.
Bizarrely World Rugby have opted not to award the Plate, Bowl, and Shield during this year’s HSBC Sevens Series, instead creating a consolation ‘Trophy’ round and other confusing finals in order to align with the Olympic tournament standards.
All fixtures will be streamed live by World Rugby.
DAY ONE RESULTS
POOL A
Argentina 19 – 21 Wales
Fiji 26 – 19 Canada
Argentina 21 – 14 Canada
Fiji 24 – 12 Wales
Wales 31 – 5 Canada
Fiji 22 – 19 Argentina
POOL B
USA 5 – 14 Scotland
South Africa 46 – 0 Uganda
USA 29 – 7 Uganda
South Africa 21 – 5 Scotland
Scotland 35 – 14 Uganda
South Africa 19 – 17 USA
POOL C
England 19 – 7 Samoa
New Zealand 26 – 5 Russia
England 38 – 7 Russia
New Zealand 26 – 21 Samoa
Samoa 17 – 15 Russia
New Zealand 12 – 26 England
POOL D
Kenya 14 – 24 France
Australia 19 – 14 Japan
Kenya 17 – 7 Japan
Australia 28 – 0 France
France 35 – 0 Japan
Australia 17 – 12 Kenya
DAY TWO FIXTURES
09:30 local, 00:30 ET – TROPHY QF – Argentina vs Japan
09:52 local, 00:52 ET – TROPHY QF – Samoa vs Uganda
10:14 local, 01:14 ET – TROPHY QF – Kenya vs Canada
10:36 local, 01:36 ET – TROPHY QF – USA vs Russia
11:00 local, 02:00 ET – CUP QF – Fiji vs France
11:22 local, 02:22 ET – CUP QF – England vs Scotland
11:44 local, 02:44 ET – CUP QF – Australia vs Wales
12:06 local, 03:06 ET – CUP QF – South Africa vs New Zealand
