England claim Vancouver 7s title

England have won the 2017 Vancouver 7s after defeating South Africa 19-7 in the Cup Final. It was the second meeting of the two sides at the tournament, with their Pool A clash ending in a 12-all draw. It’s the second tournament win of the season for England who remain the only side to have beaten South Africa on the 2016-17 HSBC Sevens Series to date.

The top performers from the Americas were again the USA, who finished in fourth place after dropping the Bronze Final to Fiji in a close 28-24 contest. Even closer was the Cup Semi Final against the Blitzbokke. With the score 14-10 the USA found themselves knocking on the door for the winning try only to see Andrew Durutalo held up in-goal by Werner Kok to save the win for South Africa.

Home side Canada followed up their strong performance in Las Vegas with another solid effort in Vancouver. After just being pipped 15-14 by New Zealand on Day One, Canada were hampered by injuries on Day Two with only nine fit players in the knockout rounds. South Africa proved a class apart and then Argentina skipped away to a 12-5 win with the Canadian lungs already stretched beyond capacity.

Los Pumas were edged by the USA 14-12 in the Cup Quarter Final before their tight match with Canada. The 5th Place Final saw them matched up with New Zealand once again but this time the men in black had their number, coming from behind with a last-minute try to Vilimoni Koroi sealing a 17-14 win.

Chile followed up their near-miss against Kenya on Day One with a memorable start to Day Two. Tries from Marcelo Torrealba and Lucas Westcott gave them a 10-0 win over Russia, their first HSBC Sevens Series win since 2010. They could not repeat the magic against Wales in the Trophy Semi Finals but can hold their heads high after exceeding expectations.

With the results the USA now move into 5th spot overall, but will have to make up 17 points to catch 4th place New Zealand. Argentina are in 7th spot and trail Australia by just five points. Canada have bumped up two spots to 10th, with seven points separating them from rivals Wales.

The Series now moves on to its most famed stop, the Hong Kong 7s on April 7. Several Americas sides will be involved with the tournament also featuring a qualifying bracket to determine the 15th core team for the 2017-18 season.

 

 

DAY ONE RESULTS

POOL A
England 28 – 14 Kenya
South Africa 33 – 0 Chile
England 26 – 0 Chile
South Africa 15 – 5 Kenya
Kenya 26 – 19 Chile
South Africa 12 – 12 England

POOL B
Argentina 24 – 19 Samoa
Fiji 34 – 19 Wales
Argentina 14 – 21 Wales
Fiji 19 – 12 Samoa
Samoa 14 – 21 Wales
Fiji 24 – 26 Argentina

POOL C
Australia 12 – 7 France
USA 52 – 0 Japan
Australia 36 – 7 Japan
USA 31 – 19 France
France 31 – 19 Japan
USA 29 – 5 Australia

POOL D
Canada 28 – 15 Scotland
New Zealand 40 – 0 Russia
Canada 26 – 5 Russia
New Zealand 33 – 12 Scotland
Scotland 10 – 12 Russia
New Zealand 15 – 14 Canada

 

DAY TWO RESULTS

TROPHY QUARTER FINALS
Kenya 19 – 17 Scotland
France 21 – 26 Samoa
Russia 0 – 10 Chile
Wales 33 – 0 Japan

CUP QUARTER FINALS
South Africa 36 – 7 Canada
USA 14 – 12 Argentina
New Zealand 12 – 14 England
Fiji 28 – 10 Australia

13th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Scotland 28 – 21 France
Russia 0 – 21 Japan

TROPHY SEMI FINALS
Kenya 7 – 26 Samoa
Chile 5 – 14 Wales

5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Canada 5 – 12 Argentina
New Zealand 21 – 0 Australia

CUP SEMI FINALS
South Africa 14 – 10 USA
England 40 – 7 Fiji

13th PLACE FINAL
Scotland 24 – 19 Japan

TROPHY FINAL
Samoa 12 – 19 Wales

5th PLACE FINAL
Argentina 14 – 17 New Zealand

BRONZE FINAL
USA 24 – 28 Fiji

CUP FINAL
South Africa 7 – 19 England