The USA are a perfect two wins from two to start their Olympic campaign. A late try from captain Madison Hughes helped the Eagles defeat a challenging Kenya in their first match. Hughes would grab a try and two conversions in a convincing win over Ireland, who softened the scoreline with a late score.
Five different Pumas touched down in their opener, a strong win over Australia. The second match did not prove as fruitful as a dominant New Zealand earned their second win of the day, outscoring Argentina five tries to two. Los Pumas remain in good shape to make the knockout stage with only a win over South Korea required to advance.
Canada’s fate may by in the hands of others but they will first have to defeat Japan in their final pool match after dropping both of their games on Day One. Great Britain were a class apart, earning their first of two shutout wins, and while there was improvement against Fiji it wasn’t enough to overturn the defending champions.
Australia could be the highest profile side to drop from medal contention should they fail to defeat New Zealand in their final match of the Pool Stage. South Africa and the USA will square off to determine first seed in Pool C, though both have already booked their place in the Quarter Finals.
DAY ONE RESULTS
POOL A
New Zealand 50 – 5 South Korea
Australia 19 – 29 Argentina
New Zealand 35 – 14 Argentina
Australia 42 – 5 South Korea
POOL B
Fiji 24 – 19 Japan
Great Britain 24 – 0 Canada
Great Britain 34 – 0 Japan
Fiji 28 – 14 Canada
POOL C
South Africa 33 – 14 Ireland
USA 19 – 14 Kenya
USA 19 – 17 Ireland
South Africa 14 – 5 Kenya
POOL STAGE FIXTURES
MONDAY, JULY 26
PT | ET | POOL | TEAM 1 | TEAM 2 |
17:00 | 20:00 | B | Canada | Japan |
17:30 | 20:30 | B | Fiji | Great Britain |
18:00 | 21:00 | A | Argentina | South Korea |
18:30 | 21:30 | A | New Zealand | Australia |
19:00 | 22:00 | C | Kenya | Ireland |
19:30 | 22:30 | C | South Africa | USA |