USA and Argentina into Vegas Semi Finals

The USA and Argentina have qualified for the Cup Semi Finals at the Las Vegas Sevens. Both teams reached the end of Day Two undefeated with two more wins to match that of Day One.

Canada also enjoyed a successful Day Two and will play in the Trophy Semi Finals after winning both their games on Saturday. The fourth Americas team, Uruguay, lost each of their fixtures.

Argentina got the day started with a one-sided shutout of Uruguay that saw five different players touch down. They followed that up with a Quarter Final victory over Kenya. Renzo Barbier scored the winning try in the second half that put the Pumas into the Semi Final against defending HSBC Sevens Series champions South Africa.

Two more wins propelled home favorites USA into a Semi Final showdown with Fiji. Spain were the first to fall in the final round of the pool stage. The Quarter Final was a memorable contest against England that saw Perry Baker score a hat-trick in the span of five minutes to seal the victory.

Canada pushed past the disappointment of Day One with wins in both of their games. Nathan Hirayama’s third conversion of the game was the difference in a 21-19 pool victory over Wales. Hirayama was again the star against Spain in the Trophy Quarter Final, scoring two tries and 16 points himself to lead the way into a Trophy Semi Final date with Scotland.

It was not a particularly enjoyable day for Uruguay, who dropped their matches by a combined score of 71-1. The only try scored by the Teros on Day Two came via Joaquín Alonso against France. Uruguay will now face Samoa in a 13th place Semi Final in the first match of Day Three.

Day Three begins at 11am local time, 2pm Eastern, with a live broadcast available on ESPN3. Those in Canada can watch on the CBC Sports website and app. World Rugby will provide a stream for residents outside the Americas.

 

POOL RESULTS

POOL A
Kenya 14 – 19 France
Fiji 38 – 0 Russia
Kenya 19 – 12 Russia
Fiji 33 – 5 France
France 31 – 7 Russia
Fiji 14 – 17 Kenya

POOL B
England 40 – 12 Canada
South Africa 26 – 21 Wales
England 33 – 12 Wales
South Africa 19 – 12 Canada
Canada 21 – 19 Wales
South Africa 24 – 19 England

POOL C
Samoa 12 – 26 USA
Australia 24 – 0 Spain
Samoa 29 – 14 Spain
Australia 7 – 28 USA
USA 28 – 17 Spain
Australia 24 – 7 Samoa

POOL D
Scotland 19 – 21 Argentina
New Zealand 28 – 7 Uruguay
Scotland 40 – 14 Uruguay
New Zealand 19 – 26 Argentina
Argentina 31 – 0 Uruguay
New Zealand 26 – 17 Scotland

 

DAY TWO FINALS

TROPHY QUARTER FINALS
France 40 – 7 Uruguay
Scotland 24 – 12 Russia
Samoa 19 – 21 Wales
Canada 21 – 14 Spain

CUP QUARTER FINALS
Fiji 14 – 10 New Zealand
USA 17 – 12 England
Argentina 17 – 12 Kenya
South Africa 29 – 17 Australia

 

DAY THREE FIXTURES

Sun, Mar 4 – 11:00 PT, 14:00 ET – 13th PLACE SEMI FINAL – Uruguay vs Samoa
Sun, Mar 4 – 11:22 PT, 14:22 ET – 13th PLACE SEMI FINAL – Russia vs Spain

Sun, Mar 4 – 11:44 PT, 14:44 ET – TROPHY SEMI FINAL – France vs Wales
Sun, Mar 4 – 12:06 PT, 15:06 ET – TROPHY SEMI FINAL – Scotland vs Canada

Sun, Mar 4 – 12:28 PT, 15:28 ET – 5th PLACE SEMI FINAL – New Zealand vs England
Sun, Mar 4 – 12:50 PT, 15:50 ET – 5th PLACE SEMI FINAL – Kenya vs Australia

Sun, Mar 4 – 13:12 PT, 16:12 ET – CUP SEMI FINAL – Fiji vs USA
Sun, Mar 4 – 13:34 PT, 17:34 ET – CUP SEMI FINAL – Argentina vs South Africa