Fiji unstoppable in London as Americas teams improve

Fiji made it four consecutive HSBC Sevens Series tournament wins as they defeated all comers at the London Sevens. The Olympic champions were in imperious form from the start, breezing through the pool stages and finding no true challenge until meeting South Africa in the Cup Final. Despite the relatively close scoreline the Fijians were clearly the better side, the Blitzbokke suffering from the loss of star players Cecil Afrika and Branco du Preez through injury.

The surprise of the weekend was the performance of invitational side Ireland. After suffering two defeats on the opening day and only sneaking into the Cup draw on points differential, they stunned the Eagles in the Quarter Final and upset England to finish with the Bronze.

An undefeated opening day saw the USA heading into Quarter Finals with confidence but Ireland were in a spoiling mood and scored four tries to two, knocking the Eagles into the consolation 5th-place Semi Finals. There they comfortably defeated Canada but were no match for a resurgent New Zealand, ending their tournament in 6th place overall.

It’s an improvement for the USA who had missed out on the Cup draw in Singapore to finish in 9th spot. Both Canada and the Argentina will also be relieved to have stepped up from Singapore though the Pumas will have been disappointed with their standing given the strength of their roster.

Canada made the Cup Quarter Finals for just the second time in an injury-ravaged season. They showed strong form on Day One, shutting out Samoa and outclassing Russia. They gave South Africa a fair contest but were ultimately no match for eventual champions Fiji.

The 2017-18 Series concludes in Paris next weekend. South Africa are the only team capable of catching Fiji, who now enjoy a seven-point buffer at the top of the table. The USA will need to be at their best to hold off England and Kenya in the race for 5th place overall. Argentina have slumped to 8th, while Canada are all-but-certain of a Top 10 finish though Samoa are in hot pursuit for their current 9th place position.

 

 

DAY ONE RESULTS

POOL A
New Zealand 24 – 12 Scotland
Fiji 28 – 19 Argentina
New Zealand 36 – 5 Argentina
Fiji 39 – 12 Scotland
Scotland 19 – 22 Argentina
Fiji 27 – 7 New Zealand

POOL B
Spain 24 – 12 Wales
Australia 33 – 7 Ireland
Spain 10 – 38 Ireland
Australia 20 – 12 Wales
Wales 21 – 19 Ireland
Australia 28 – 22 Spain

POOL C
Kenya 19 – 19 USA
England 34 – 0 France
Kenya 24 – 21 France
England 14 – 31 USA
USA 38 – 14 France
England 38 – 12 Kenya

POOL D
Samoa 0 – 14 Canada
South Africa 31 – 0 Russia
Samoa 17 – 29 Russia
South Africa 17 – 7 Canada
Canada 29 – 10 Russia
South Africa 12 – 21 Samoa

 

DAY TWO RESULTS

TROPHY QUARTER FINALS
Argentina 19 – 14 Samoa
Kenya 38 – 0 Spain
Russia 15 – 10 Scotland
Wales 33 – 29 France

CUP QUARTER FINALS
Fiji 40 – 7 Canada
USA 12 – 22 Ireland
South Africa 14 – 5 New Zealand
Australia 17 – 21 England

13th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Samoa 26 – 10 Spain
Scotland 43 – 21 France

TROPHY SEMI FINALS
Argentina 10 – 42 Kenya
Russia 12 – 27 Wales

5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Canada 19 – 27 USA
New Zealand 38 – 7 Australia

CUP SEMI FINALS
Fiji 38 – 12 Ireland
South Africa 29 – 19 England

13th PLACE FINAL
Samoa 34 – 10 Scotland

TROPHY FINAL
Kenya 33 – 19 Wales

5th PLACE FINAL
USA 5 – 26 New Zealand

BRONZE FINAL
Ireland 21 – 19 England

CUP FINAL
Fiji 21 – 17 South Africa