Coming out unscathed from the first day of HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens action at the National Stadium were South Africa, New Zealand, USA and Australia, all of whom won their three pool games.

Focus and Determination from the Kiwis

New Zealand had showed plenty of focus and determination in their first pool game against Japan, beating the Asians 43-0 and then followed this up with another emphatic victory against Spain, winning 53-0 against the Europeans.

However in the Kiwis’ final pool game against Samoa, the All Blacks Sevens went down 17-0 before hitting back, and eventually winning the game 26-22.

Said Scott Curry, Captain, All Blacks Sevens, “We are very happy with how it has gone. Confidence is definitely very high. Hong Kong was disappointing as we did not finish what we wanted to, so it was good to get a good result here in Singapore on the first day.”

A Good Showing From USA

Series leaders USA began their Singapore outing well to avenge their pool loss to Wales during the Hong Kong Sevens, this time emerging triumphant with a convincing 31-12 scoreline.

And then in their second game, the USA Eagles Sevens showed plenty of resilience and holding on for a 17-14 win against Kenya.

Explained Steve Tomasin, USA Eagles Sevens, “We are proud of where we are in the world standings. We are off to a good start in Singapore and we need to keep it going. Being the series leader after eight tournaments does not mean anything for us, though. We have to make sure that we are still the leader after ten tournaments. So this means we have to keep our foot on the gas and continue to play well.”

And Tomasin continued, “While we are happy with our showing in Singapore so far, we have some stuff to correct and tighten up. We are not playing our best rugby right now and there are quite a bit of improvements that we can make.”

The Americans met England in their final pool game and won 22-7, showing plenty of drive and determination in the process.

Said Madison Hughes, USA captain, “I am really impressed with how the guys worked for one another. We maintained possession and grinned it out. We did nothing particularly flashy but we worked together and came in with a win against a good England team.”

Scotland and Wales Create Upsets

As well, besides the four unbeaten sides, Scotland also recorded a convincing victory against Fiji, who were the winners in the Hong Kong Sevens, and as well, Wales finally managed to win a Sevens game against England after 16 years.

Cup Quarter Finals

With the pool results, the USA will now meet Argentina in the Cup Quarter Finals.

And the other Cup Quarter Finals will see Australia contest England, bouncing back in style after a disappointing outing in Hong Kong.

South Africa will be playing against Samoa and the final Cup Quarter Final game will be a match up between New Zealand and Fiji.

Losing their last two group games (Scotland 12-19 and South Africa 7-17), Fiji head coach Gareth Baber is understandably disappointed.

He said, “We lost probably the most influential player early in our tournament during the first game against Canada. Obviously experience is a big thing when you’re coming into the second tournament. Even the Scotland game, we went after everything. We just didn’t get the breaks and that happens in rugby.”

Continued Baber, “Against South Africa, we showed great endeavour and some huge amounts of work and we were able to capitalise on some of the pressure positions we put ourselves in. That was very good as well. We are not far away. If you look at last weekend what has happened there and coming to Singapore, it is always tough. But no excuses. We’ve got to get better as the tournament goes on.”

Challenge Trophy Quarter Finals

On the other hand, for the Challenge Trophy Quarter Finals, Scotland will play against Spain, Wales will be up against Hong Kong, Japan will contest against Canada and France will pit themselves against Kenya.

Matches Continue Today

All of the Cup and Challenge Trophy matches for the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens continue today, 14 April 2019, at 10am Singapore time, within the Singapore National Stadium.