Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
A good weekend for Americas teams at the Cape Town Sevens concluded with Argentina facing New Zealand in the Cup Final. Both teams had tasted defeat earlier in the competition and it was New Zealand who emerged the stronger of the two in the end, taking a dominant 38-14 result to leave the Pumas as runners-up. For New Zealand it capped an impressive recovery after suffering a humiliating 22-0 loss to the USA on Day One.
It’s an excellent result for Argentina, who finish the calendar year in 5th place overall. Also enjoying an strong tournament was Canada, who came up one conversion short to the Pumas in the Semi Finals and fell by the same distance against South Africa in the Bronze Final. They rise to 7th overall, a significant improvement after stuttering in Dubai last weekend.
The USA improved markedly from a week ago but their Day Two results did not match those of Day One. A disappointing Quarter Final performance against Argentina left them with the potential of a 5th-place finish at best, and they ultimately closed the tournament in 6th after dropping their final match of the day to Fiji. They will enter 2018 in 12th place overall, a number that will not sit well with coach Mike Friday.
New Zealand’s victory bumps them ahead of South Africa for the overall HSBC Sevens Series lead, albeit just two points ahead of the defending champions. Olympic Champions Fiji are next up but are a good 11 points back in 3rd place, with England just one notch below in 4th. The Series now takes a break and resumes in Sydney on January 26.
DAY TWO RESULTS
TROPHY QUARTER FINALS
Kenya 15 – 19 Samoa
Scotland 7 – 24 Spain
Wales 21 – 12 Russia
Australia 47 – 12 Uganda
CUP QUARTER FINALS
South Africa 31 – 26 Fiji
England 12 – 17 New Zealand
Canada 35 – 7 France
USA 12 – 28 Argentina
13th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Kenya 33 – 12 Scotland
Russia 19 – 28 Uganda
TROPHY SEMI FINALS
Samoa 0 – 24 Spain
Wales 5 – 42 Australia
5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Fiji 19 – 12 England
France 12 – 29 USA
CUP SEMI FINALS
South Africa 12 – 19 New Zealand
Canada 12 – 14 Argentina
13th PLACE FINAL
Kenya 24 – 14 Uganda
TROPHY FINAL
Spain 7 – 26 Australia
5th PLACE FINAL
Fiji 26 – 12 USA
BRONZE FINAL
South Africa 19 – 17 Canada
CUP FINAL
New Zealand 38 – 14 Argentina
