The 41st edition of the Hong Kong Sevens kicked off in style on Friday night as it hosted the Asian leg of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series. The world renowned sevens venue, known as the ”Mecca” of sevens rugby, lived up to it’s reputation as it gave the fans and players alike an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else in the world.
Hong Kong Sevens (HK7’s) Day One opened to some mouth watering sevens rugby from the qualifying teams who are trying to win a spot to the top flight next season and replace the last placed core team this season. However, the talk of the day was the English who regained some lost form to beat the South Africans in the opening pool game 21-14.
As the curtains fall on Day Two, the English team are in the Cup quarters again, the Kenyans just got there, the Blitzboks are in line for their ‘first ever HK7’s title’ and the Kiwis will be playing with only ten healthy men come finals day. Entertainment on the field was replaced by entertainment for the crowd who had veteran Scottish band The Proclaimers performing for them. Did I mention David Hasselhoff? The Hoff was guest host of this years tournament and his Baywatch anthem had the crowd humming. No other place like the HK7’s has such crowd participation and enjoyment.
THE LOWDOWN
Pool A ( NZL, Kenya, France, Samoa)
The New Zealand (NZL) team were put to task early by Les Bleus on Friday night, led by the inspirational Virimi Vakatawa, as they ran out to 17-0 at the break. Sensational stuff, only for the Kiwis to miraculously make a comeback in the second half, to again win at the death 19-17. The Kiwis lost two of the senior players over these first days; Sam Dickson and ‘Captain Courageous’ Tim Mikkelson who was injured while scoring.
However on the plus side, playing one of his finest tournaments in a long while, is the old war horse DJ Forbes. Leading by example and doing execellnt work at the breakdown, retaining possession and winning crucial turnovers, Sir Gordon Tietjens can rely on Forbes to harness this teams potential in the qualifying matches.
Another player standing out in pool A is the ‘evergreen’ Faalemiga Selesele of Samoa. Winning those crucial kick-offs and leading his young team mates well, the Manu team have progressed well in 2016 and lest we forget Virimi Vakatawa. The Samoans played well but not well enough, not really ruthless in their execution. For mine, they lack hunger and miss out on Cup qualification but we hope they finish well on Finals day.
The French have re-awakened with the return of Vakatawa but he can’t do it all, they all have to play their part if they are to finish strong in the Bowl section tomorrow.
The Kenyans gave the Kiwis another fright today, only losing 5-0 in a strong defensive effort and accounted for the Samoans 24-0 but poorly, lost to the French and only just managed to earn themselves a quarter final showdown against defending champs Fiji.
Results:
Day One: Samoa 0-24 Kenya, NZL 19-17 France
Day Two: Samoa 24-12 France, NZL 5-0 Kenya, France 17-10 Kenya, NZL 28-10 Samoa.
Pool B (RSA, Scotland, England Russia.)
The Blitzboks (RSA) didn’t see it coming. After consecutive tournaments playing at the lower end of the competition, the English really turned up at the HK7’s and defeated the higher ranked side in their opening pool game, 21-14. The English looked good and have been rewarded with a quarter final berth through their efforts on Days One and Two.
They played well until their last game when mental toughness eluded them, for the Russians to earn a surprise draw 12-12. In this, they need to be consistent and treat all the teams the same if they want to progress further on Finals day.
The South Africans are feeling the loss of Rosko Specman who was being rested by Head Coach Neill Powell, as he continues a policy of rotation as the side look towards Rio but Ruhan Nel has been doing very well for them in the last two days.
The Scots on the other hand will be trying their best in the Bowl tomorrow, looking to impress Great Britain selectors.
Results:
Day One: RSA 14-21 England, Scotland 28-15 Russia
Day Two: RSA 50-0 Russia, Scotland 0-19 England, Russia 12-12 England [draw] RSA 31-0 Scotland.
Pool C (AUS, USA, Argentina, Portugal)
The United States (USA) team have regained their lost form but all will be at stake tomorrow when the elimination stage begins. Improved consistency and their desire for a good finish will be vital for the squad, evident as they lost to the Aussie 7’s. With Perry Baker and Carlin Isles in ‘hunger’ mode – Last Word On Sports says “feed them the ball and watch them fly!”
The Australians (AUS) have to dig deep tomorrow, but knowing their previous tournaments performances, we all know that they will come out guns firing and will be in the reckoning come the finals. Racking up 95 points in three games, they are effective and besides when ‘the Honeybadger’ Nick Cummins (pictured) dropped a ball in the act of scoring a try, they might have cracked one hundred points.
The Pumas have lost the plot here in Hong Kong but we must credit Nicolas Bruzzone who we believe is one finest tacklers in the business. His technique and positioning is one positive which stops attacking players momentum in the instant, and presents the second tackler the perfect opportunity to try and turn that ball over.
Day One: AUS 28-0 Argentina, USA 21-5 Portugal
Day Two: AUS 45-7 Portugal, USA 26-14 Argentina, Argentina 24-0 Portugal, AUS 22-7 USA
Pool D (Fiji, Wales, Canada, South Korea)
After their opening day scare from the Canadians, the defending champion Fijian’s turned up the heat and walloped the South Koreans 57-0, the highest score in the tournament so far as the Fijians mesmerized the crowd with their free flowing ‘South Sea Islands style’ of rugby. They have been doing it for over 40 years, and it brings the crowd to their feet every year.
The Wales team are peaking at the right time to gain the maximum amount of points that they can accumulate. With just three rounds to go in the series, they look set to be in the ‘safe zone’ away from the chasing pack, who are all trying to retain their core status.
The Canadians looked like a team that only trained for that one game against Fiji, as they lost their heads on day two, seeing them drop down to the Bowl section after their positive outing on their home tournament. Such up and down form is not what you need over a ten tournament series, so we expect them to be taken to task by Liam Middleton and he will expect men like Nathan Shigeru Hirayama to perform.
South Korea were not expected to challenge the top-flight sides, but credit goes to their team who scored tries on both days, and will be motivated for the final day as they have ‘nothing to lose’.
Results:
Day One: Wales 40-14 South Korea, Fiji 19-17 Canada
Day Two: Fiji 57-0 South Korea, Wales 24-10 Canada, Canada 31-14 South Korea, Fiji 36-10 Wales
Meanwhile, in the HSBC Sevens Series qualifying tournament semifinals, hosts Hong Kong will meet Germany while the Japanese will meet Zimbabwe in the other semi final. The final winner will then gain core status next season. Good luck to all four sides.
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Finals Day Fixtures
Bowl Quarter finals:
France vs South Korea | Argentina vs Russia | Canada vs Samoa | Scotland vs Portugal
Cup Quarter finals:
New Zealand vs Wales | USA vs South Africa | Fiji vs Kenya | England vs Australia
Elimination day looms, and as the rock band The Proclaimers sang their number one hit ‘500 miles’ to entertain the crowds and the players, we remember the famous chorus ”I would walk 500 miles, and I would 500 more” there is a synergy here–16 teams have walked many miles to win this tournament in Hong Kong, and will [literally] walk 500 more to Singapore, as each sides quest for the series title continues. Who will lift the Cup come tomorrow at the 40,000 strong So Kon Po Stadium, it’s anyone’s game.
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Meanwhile at the Women’s Sevens Series in Atlanta, the Cup quarter finals are: England vs Russia | Canada vs Fiji | USA vs Australia | France vs NZL.
Follow all the action with your series ‘Lowdown’ from the Hong Kong Sevens and Atlanta Sevens here on Last Word On Sports.
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