USA and Canada slide into Sydney Quarter Finals

It wasn’t the smoothest of entries but both North American sides have qualified for the Cup Quarter Finals of the women’s bracket at the Sydney Sevens. The USA lost one pool game and Canada two on Day One but both somehow made it to the top eight.

Two tries each from Bianca Farella and Britt Benn gave Canada a dominant win over Fiji in their tournament opener. They took a 14-10 lead into halftime in their second game but the only second half scoring came from Amee-Leigh Murphy-Crowe of Ireland. The third match went further downhill as they slumped to a 12-7 defeat to Russia.

The Women’s Eagles suffered a similar dip in form during their second match. Four different players touched down in the win over China but Spain overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit to win 21-14 in the second match. The USA shot ahead 19-0 against Australia and had to hang on for dear life as the Olympic champions came roaring back, ultimately falling just short.

Overall series leaders New Zealand once again looked a class apart on Day One. They smashed through the pool stage with a combined score of 98-12. Canada will line up opposite in the Quarter Final, while the USA will play Russia. Their win over Canada was their only one though they did manage to tie Ireland, who advanced unbeaten.

All matches are available live in Canada on the CBC Sports Website. Those elsewhere can watch a live stream provided by World Rugby.

 

DAY ONE RESULTS

POOL A
England 14-27 France
New Zealand 38-5 Papua New Guinea
England 36-5 Papua New Guinea
New Zealand 31-7 France
France 53-0 Papua New Guinea
New Zealand 29-0 England

POOL B
Russia 7-7 Ireland
Canada 36-12 Fiji
Russia 12-21 Fiji
Canada 14-15 Ireland
Ireland 24-19 Fiji
Canada 7-12 Russia

POOL C
USA 26-10 China
Australia 19-0 Spain
USA 14-21 Spain
Australia 24-7 China
Australia 12-19 USA
China 12-14 Spain

 

DAY TWO FIXTURES

Fri, Feb 1 – 20:06 ET – TROPHY SF – England vs Papua New Guinea
Fri, Feb 1 – 20:28 ET – TROPHY SF – Fiji vs China

Fri, Feb 1 – 20:50 ET – CUP QF – New Zealand vs Canada
Fri, Feb 1 – 21:12 ET – CUP QF – Russia vs USA
Fri, Feb 1 – 21:34 ET – CUP QF – Ireland vs Spain
Fri, Feb 1 – 21:56 ET – CUP QF – Australia vs France