The 41st edition of the Hong Kong Sevens ended in style with the Fijians retaining the their title in front of a vocal Hong Kong crowd at the So Kon Po Stadium among them was the sevens maestro Waisale Serevi and Chairman of World Rugby President Bernard Lapasset.
It was another successful tournament full of excitement with Japan regaining core status, the English finding lost form to claim the Plate final, Los Pumas walking away with the Bowl and the Russians collecting their first ever series silverware.
Hong Kong Sevens: THE LOWDOWN
Fiji Retains Hong Kong Sevens Title
The Kiwis went in early through Pita Ahki when he showed the Fijian captain some slick side stepping skills which was converted by Gilles Kaka. The Fijians replied straight after through Jerry Tuwai after constant infringement from the Kiwis to level the scores. They went in to the break all levelled up.
The Fijians scored first in the second half after four minutes through Kitione Taliga converted for a 14-7 lead. With two minutes remaining the “Beast” Semi Kunatani had runaway try for the Fijians to go ahead 21-7. They withstood the Kiwis onslaught in the final seconds to win.
Semi Kunatani inspired the Fijians victory with great defensive work and attack that kept the Kiwis in check while DJ Forbes again giving his all with Pita Ahki and Sonny Bill Williams. Even playing with ten men on Day three the Kiwis still managed to reach the final credit to master tactician Sir Gordon Tietjens.
South Africa wins third place play-off
The Blitzboks started well with Cecil Africa crossing over and Swive “SHAKES” Soyizwapi put on the after burners for a 14-0 lead but the Aussies replied back through Sam Meyers for the two teams to go to the break with the South Africans leading 14-7. They quickly scored again from the restart to Boyd Killingworth after strong work in the breakdown to trail by two points.
The South Africans hanged on to their two point lead in the dying stages to win as the Aussies came so close at the death but the penalty kick by James Stannard was wide. The Aussies have found a new weapon in Frankie Winterstein, powerfully build and a strong runner with good offloading skills.
England’s resurrection rewarded after winning the Plate Final
England’s resurrection after their dismal performance in the American leg was rewarded with their Plate final win in Hong Kong, walloping the USA side 19-0. It was a one way show as the English were really determined to finish on a high in Hong Kong and it was a just reward for a great showing.
Tom Mitchell led by example with Phil Burgess and Dan Norton producing some finest rugby his weekend both in attack and defense.
Dan Norton who claimed his 200th series try against Kenya in the plate semis started proceedings for England in the final as he oozed past the Americans defense. James Rodwell and Ruadrith McConnochie grabbed the othe tries. In the semis the Americans defeated Wales 27-0 while the Kenyans gave it their all only to lose 33-0.
Los Pumas Sevens claim Bowl Title
After a lackluster showing in the opening two days of the Hong Kong Sevens, the Argentinians regained their composure on the finals day to claim a 26-0 victory over Scotland. The suffocating defensive pattern by the Los Pumas was their key ingredient in their victory completely shutting the Scots out especially Joe Nayacavou who usually offloads in tough situations.
The Argentinians scored four unanswered tries to Segundo Tuculet, Juan Pablo Estelles who grabbed two and Bautista Ezcurra wrapped up the one-sided affair.
Russia Wins Shield
Like their female counterparts the Russians are improving in every tournament they play in and with core status hanging in the balance every win and maximum point they gain is vital for their survival with Japan back in the reckoning for next season after regaining their core status.
The Russians won on extra-time after the Canadians lost the plot and their silly handling errors cost them the game which re-iterated what we mentioned earlier that the Canadians looked like a team that only focus on that game against Fiji on Day One as they were the shadow of the side that played in Vancouver.
Good work from the breakdown by Vladislav Sozonov handed the match winning try to namesake Vladislav Lazarenko for a 19-14 victory.
Core Status Qualifier
Lemeki Lomano inspired Japan back to the core status of the World Sevens Series with a hat-trick in the Qualifying final over host Hong Kong to win 24-12. It was the third hat-trick of the day after Kurt (NZ) and Perry Baker (USA).
It was a memorable victory for the Japanese who lost their core status this season but after appearing in most of the tournaments this season as the invitational side, it was sweet victory for them,something that their hero of the day Lemeki Lomano was proud to share with worldrugby.org after the game.
” It means a lot. It was vital for us to go to the Olympics and be back in the World Series. It was always going to be tough playing Hong Kong in Hong Kong with the crowd behind them.
Looking ahead to next season, he said, “We have showed in the four tournaments that we have played in this season, especially Vegas, that we can compete with he bigger teams, it’s just doing that on a consistent basis.”
DHL Player of the Final:
Semi Kunatani (Fiji): He gave it all, even in final even when Head Coach slotted him in the rovers berth. He led by example as if he never left.
DHL Impact Player of the Tournament:
Semi Kunatani (Fiji): He has been away in France for club duties but returned to stamp his mark again and tell the world of sevens he is still one of the best.
HSBC World Sevens Series Table:
Fiji – 125 points
New Zealand – 123
South Africa – 122
Australia – 105
USA – 88
Argentina – 77
England – 70
Kenya – 63
Samoa – 49
Scotland – 49
France – 48
Wales – 42
Canada – 33
Japan – 20
Russia – 18
Portugal – 12
With the curtains falling in Hong Kong as the Fijians retain the Hong Kong title, the series heads to Singapore next weekend and one team that really needs to step up is Portugal, with three rounds left they have 12 points with Russia six points above them and they need to finish higher then the Russians to have any chance of retaining their core status heading to the final leg in Europe.
Follow all the THE LOWDOWN from the Singapore Sevens here on Last Word on Sports with Scott Hornell and Jovilisi Waqa.
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