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Olympic Sevens: Great Britain Look Promising On Day Two

Olympic Sevens Women’s competition continued at the Deodoro Stadium today, with the games capturing the hearts of the global audience. The action reached new heights, teams beginning to peak for the final day, as Great Britain look promising as teams head in the medal round of competition.

Great Britain Look Promising on Day Two

The British thrashed tournament favourites Canada in their final pool game 22-0. They also made light work of Fijiana 26-7 in the quarter finals, to book a mouthwatering semi final against New Zealand. The composite team, made up of England, Wales and Scotland have come together well, outshining others after two days.

Australia will meet Canada in the other semi final, after overcoming Spain and France respectively. That set’s up a repeat of the Clermont-Ferrand Sevens final. While the pool play rounds ended, and knockout matches began, the ‘big four’ made their presence felt. Team USA and Fiji failed to knock-over the preferred teams, as Australia hit the ‘speed wobbles’ before returning to winning ways.

Fans in Rio and all across the world appreciated the high skills of the women’s game today. Exquisite displays of athleticism and high calibre rugby sevens, all made for riveting play. Plenty to report on, so here is ‘the lowdown’ of Day Two from Deodoro Stadium.

Cup Quarter-finals

Australia 24 Spain 0

The Aussies overcame their ‘shock’ draw to the United States, to dethrone Spain and book their spot in the semi finals. They also, welcomed back the ‘Green Machine’ Elia Green who left the field in the opening moments of their game against USA–she was on a receiving end of a nasty high tackle at the beginning of the final pool play match.

Charlotte Caslick has been immense all weekend, rescuing them with a try saving tackle against Team USA. Her ‘big plays’ were matched by Emma Tonegato running in six tries in the last two days. While winning against Spain looked easy, their biggest test will be in the semis against Canada.

Australia need to lift their game for Day Three

They need to lift their game to another level. That means having a fit side, and from observation, Emilee Cherry is clearly not at her usual best. An injury cloud has hung over her all weekend.

“This morning we started a little bit slow and we obviously improved in that second game and I think we just brought a more physical game into that,” Charlotte Caslick told the ARU website.

Spain had no answer for the Australians and the Los Leonas will be out to chase down a credible fifth place finish in tomorrows match against France. 

Canada 15 France 5

Canada overcame a spirited French side, to book their semi finals berth against Australia. After being humbled earlier in the day by Great Britain 22-0, they rebounded superbly. Unlike their British opponents, the French allowed Ghislaine Landry and Jen Kish room to move, with youngster Bianca Farella shredding them to pieces.

Karen Paquin. Karen Moleschi, Amy Witcham-Roy, Ashley Stacey and Brittany Benn laid the foundation for the victory. This team knows how to handle Australia and they can finish the job–unlike their North American neighbors, who let themselves down in the end.

Canada reach semi finals

While France had done themselves proud, Canada were too disciplined and almost immediately changed focus post-match. Australia, the current Sevens Series Champions deserve full concentration, so the John Tait knew his team would need to step-up again.

Beating Australia a real challenge

“We get Australia in the semifinal. Obviously another familiar opponent. We just can’t afford to make turnovers like we did in the two games today. They’ll punish any team for that many turnovers. It will come down to our possession against them and really challenging them through the middle…we’ll see what mismatches we can create on the outside.” – Rugby Canada website.

Handling Green is the key to success tomorrow. Minimizing the influence of Caslick, Sharni Williams and Shannon Parry will assist the Canadian girls. Nullifying the distribution between Chloe Dalton, Alicia Quirk and Emma Tonegato will be another target area.

Great Britain 26 Fiji 7

Great Britain continued their fine form after the final pool match this morning. They simply outclassed the South Sea Islanders in a display that would have had other teams taking notes. It was the hard work set by Anna Richardson, Jo Watmore with Abbie Brown that led them to victory. The British girls continue to improve game after game, impressing commentators and opponents alike.

Amy Wilson-Hardy, Katy McLean, Natasha Hunt, Heather Fisher played vital roles for the combined side. Welshwoman Jasmin Joyce and ‘Captain fantastic’ Emily Scarratt were all a joy to watch on Day Two. That strong performance takes them through to the medals playoff, one step closer to their collective dreams.

Fiji allowed Great Britain to dictate play with silly mistakes on-and-off the ball. Those mistakes cost them the game arguably. They used a different lineup that they should not have for mine. Change at this stage upset combinations that had been used from the beginning of the tournament–it did not have the desired effect.

Fiji fail to reach the podium

Fijiana play-maker Viniana Riwai was not at her usual best, which made rover Lavenia Tinai work overtime with Raijeli Daveua. The added strain took it’s toll and hopefully, coach Chris Cracknell will learn from this.

If the team can mend those issue and sends out the same team tomorrow, their goal must be a fifth place finish. Even the presence of their more famous brothers [Fiji men] in the stands today, failed to lift up the Fiji girls. No doubt, Ben Ryan will offer some advice, but Cracknell knows his team can still perform strongly.

New Zealand 5 USA 0

United States had a thrilling Day Two. Team USA took two Oceania giants in Australia and New Zealand right down to the wire. A stellar draw 12-12 with Australia would have energized the group. It sent them to the quarter final, very nearly upsetting the dominant New Zealand side. The North American team stayed in the game, holding the Kiwis to one try only, but lacked execution to finish the game.

New Zealand have a lot on their plate now, as they search for innovative ways to free-up Portia Woodman and Kayla McAlister. In tomorrows match, they will be heavily marked by the British players. Sarah Goss’ work in the breakdown will be vital, as the Northern Hemisphere team love the contact part of the game. Even with that, you can be sure that if Portman receives the ball, she is focused on the tryline.

Yellow cards put pressure on Kiwis

Indiscipline has been a problem for the Kiwis over the last two days. They will need to address that, as one ‘silly error in judgement’ could cost them the game, and a medal. Looking back, they should count their lucky stars that the Americans didn’t capitalize on their one woman advantage. And Tayla Nathan-Wong; binned for  a high tackle, must make up for that poor technique. A star with the ball in hand (or place kicking) defence is just as important now.

As they now focus on Team GB, standards must be retained. Sean Horan was rapt with the way his players stood up under real pressure in that second half. “In the last three minutes we showed some pretty good composure and I think we played the clock pretty well.”

5th to 8th position play-off matches

While these sides may not have been elevated to the medal round, crucial World Rugby ranking places are up for grabs. Each side will play hard, to complete objectives and work toward the HSBC Sevens Series.

Spain vs France

Fiji vs USA

9th place playoff match

Brazil and Japan will now fight for the crucial ninth-spot finish after overcoming Colombia and Kenya. The hosts Brazil, led by Paula Ishabashi, overcame Colombia 24-0. The Kenyans were handed the same scoreline by Japan. Both sides will be rewarded with core team status of the 2016/2017 Sevens Series if the claim 9th place.

African Qualifier Kenya and South American qualifier Colombia will have to fight it out for the ‘wooden spoon’ tomorrow.

With Day two coming to an end, the finalists have been identified. The biggest question is, who will reach the final? All teams have been tested, with Great Britain looking like a team to beat. Can they stop an all Oceania final? Might Canada upset the Sevens Series champions?

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Follow Last Word On Sports for reaction, previews and team features on all the semi finalists. We wish each team all the best, as Rugby Sevens debuts at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

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