The Americas endured a difficult Day One at the Hamilton Sevens with none of the three teams qualifying for the Cup Quarter Finals. Canada and the USA each suffered significant injury blows heading into the tournament which affected their performance while Argentina could not escape a competitive Pool C.
Perry Baker led the USA with two tries against Canada in their opening match of the tournament. He would score in each of the next two games but missed conversions cost them the game against Samoa while a draw against Kenya wasn’t enough to qualify for the Cup Finals. Carlin Isles picked up a brace against the Kenyans who topped Pool D after beating both Samoa and Canada.
For Canada there was trepidation heading into the tournament after losing four players to injury during the week. Isaac Kaay grabbed a pair of touchdowns against Kenya but their opponents were one better at the final whistle. Samoa ran out to a 22-0 lead before Tevaughn Campbell and Luke Bradley scored their first career HSBC Sevens Series tries though they were too late to mount a comeback.
Franco Sábato, Felipe del Mestre, and Luciano González Rissoni accounted for all of Argentina’s tries on Day One with the win over Scotland a promising start. France proved too strong in their second match, however, and a late try from Joe Ravouvou ended hopes of a Pumas upset over New Zealand and with it a spot in the Cup draw.
Canada face rivals Wales in the opening match on Day Two, with Argentina next against Russia and the USA paired up with Spain. All matches will be streamed live by CBC Sports for Canadian viewers and ESPN for the rest of the Americas.
DAY ONE RESULTS
POOL A
Fiji 28 – 0 Wales
Australia 21 – 5 Spain
Fiji 24 – 12 Spain
Australia 26 – 7 Wales
Wales 29 – 21 Spain
Australia 15 – 26 Fiji
POOL B
England 47 – 0 Russia
South Africa 36 – 5 Papua New Guinea
England 27 – 0 Papua New Guinea
South Africa 38 – 0 Russia
Russia 7 – 33 Papua New Guinea
South Africa 28 – 7 England
POOL C
New Zealand 52 – 7 France
Argentina 19 – 14 Scotland
New Zealand 24 – 5 Scotland
Argentina 14 – 28 France
France 14 – 26 Scotland
Argentina 12 – 17 New Zealand
POOL D
Kenya 19 – 14 Samoa
USA 28 – 14 Canada
Kenya 19 – 14 Canada
USA 10 – 14 Samoa
Samoa 22 – 14 Canada
USA 19 – 19 Kenya
DAY TWO FIXTURES
Sat, Feb 3 – 17:00 ET – TROPHY QF – Wales vs Canada
Sat, Feb 3 – 17:22 ET – TROPHY QF – Argentina vs Russia
Sat, Feb 3 – 17:44 ET – TROPHY QF – USA vs Spain
Sat, Feb 3 – 18:06 ET – TROPHY QF – Papua New Guinea vs France
Sat, Feb 3 – 18:36 ET – CUP QF – Fiji vs Samoa
Sat, Feb 3 – 18:58 ET – CUP QF – New Zealand vs England
Sat, Feb 3 – 19:20 ET – CUP QF – Kenya vs Australia
Sat, Feb 3 – 19:42 ET – CUP QF – South Africa vs Scotland