Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
New Zealand cruised to a one-sided Cup Final victory over South Africa to claim the Men’s title at the Sydney Sevens. The 38-nil result completed a clean sweep of the knockouts with 86 points scored and only 5 conceded for the men in black.
Argentina were the top Americas finishers in 9th spot. Los Pumas defeated Japan to start their day, then recovered from a 17-nil halftime deficit to defeat the USA in their second match. A last-gasp score from Rodrigo Isgro gave Argentina the 9th place final win over Tonga.
The Eagles only just edged Uruguay in the 9th Place Quarter Final, with Stephen Tomasin’s second conversion proving the difference. Their tournament would end after the disappointing loss to Argentina with the USA finishing in a tie with Kenya for 11th spot.
Los Teros were painfully close to beating the USA and followed it up with a strong win over Japan thanks to late tries from Mateo Viñals and Baltazar Amaya. They finished on a high with another dominant win over Spain to close the weekend in 13th spot.
Canada meanwhile endured their lowest placing of the season as they blew a 14-nil halftime lead against Spain in the 13th Place Semi Final. The Maple Leafs were earlier overpowered by Tonga, and now sit just two points ahead of the Island nation in 14th place on the overall standings despite playing three more tournaments than the invitational side.
The subpar showings from Argentina and the USA see them slip to 6th and 7th overall respectively, though 3rd-place Samoa are just two points ahead of the Eagles. Uruguay are now in 11th spot, three points ahead of 12th-place Kenya.
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
CUP QUARTER FINALS
Samoa 0 – 12 New Zealand
South Africa 26 – 12 Ireland
Fiji 26 – 14 Great Britain
Australia 14 – 17 France
9th PLACE QUARTER FINALS
USA 14 – 12 Uruguay
Kenya 17 – 12 Spain
Tonga 35 – 14 Canada
Argentina 19 – 12 Japan
13th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Uruguay 24 – 19 Japan
Spain 17 – 14 Canada
9th PLACE SEMI FINALS
USA 17 – 19 Argentina
Kenya 24 – 26 Tonga
5th PLACE SEM IFINALS
Samoa 24 – 10 Australia
Ireland 21 – 19 Great Britain
CUP SEMI FINALS
New Zealand 36 – 5 France
South Africa 31 – 12 Fiji
13th PLACE FINAL
Uruguay 26 – 5 Spain
9th PLACE FINAL
Argentina 21 – 19 Tonga
5th PLACE FINAL
Samoa 24 – 12 Ireland
BRONZE FINAL
France 5 – 29 Fiji
CUP FINAL
New Zealand 38 – 0 South Africa
