Adelaide Day 2 Results & Updates

[travelling_gerry]

24 04-04-2009 18:10 South Africa 14 - 15 Kenya AUS Pool D
23 04-04-2009 17:48 New Zealand 27 - 5 USA AUS Pool C
22 04-04-2009 17:26 Argentina 21 - 26 Fiji AUS Pool B
21 04-04-2009 17:04 England 24 - 24 Samoa AUS Pool A
20 04-04-2009 16:32 Cook Islands 12 - 20 Japan AUS Pool D
19 04-04-2009 16:10 France 24 - 12 Scotland AUS Pool B
18 04-04-2009 15:48 Australia 31 - 5 Portugal AUS Pool A
17 04-04-2009 15:26 Wales 19 - 26 Tonga AUS Pool C
16 04-04-2009 14:49 Kenya 27 - 0 Cook Islands AUS Pool D
15 04-04-2009 14:27 South Africa 43 - 0 Japan AUS Pool D
14 04-04-2009 14:05 Fiji 21 - 10 France AUS Pool B
13 04-04-2009 13:43 Argentina 12 - 7 Scotland AUS Pool B
12 04-04-2009 13:21 Samoa 19 - 26 Australia AUS Pool A
11 04-04-2009 12:59 England 29 - 0 Portugal AUS Pool A
10 04-04-2009 12:37 USA 17 - 24 Wales AUS Pool C
9 04-04-2009 12:15 New Zealand 33 - 0 Tonga AUS Pool C

[travelling_gerry]

Hosts Australia beat Samoa for the first time in four years to top their group and qualify unbeaten for the Cup quarter finals at the Adelaide International Sevens, the sixth event on the IRB Sevens World Series.

New Zealand and Fiji also went unbeaten in pool play, England drew with Samoa to clinch qualification, while Kenya pulled off a stunning victory against World Series leaders South Africa in the last match of the day to set up a terrific quarter final line-up at the Adelaide Oval.

Cup quarter finals
Australia v Argentina
Kenya v Wales
New Zealand v South Africa
Fiji v England

- ADELAIDE RESULTS & FIXTURES >>
- ADELAIDE AUDIO REACTION >>
- ADELAIDE POOL STANDINGS >>
- WORLD SERIES STANDINGS >>

With three events still to be decided - Adelaide, London and Edinburgh - South Africa currently lead the way in the World Series with 84 points, 16 clear of England (68) with Fiji (62), New Zealand (60) and Argentina (56) all in contention. There have already been four different Cup title winners this season, from four different continents.

Pool A

Australia and England qualified from an extremely competitive Pool A. Shaun Foley scored two tries as Australia capped a fine first couple of days to beat Portugal 31-5 and top Pool A unbeaten. Willie Bishop, Luke Morahan and Henry Vanderglas also scored for the Wallaby Seven, while Pedro Leal scored for the Portuguese.


Earlier, the young Australians won a first victory against Samoa for four years, fighting back after falling 12-0 down to win 26-19 and reach the Cup quarter finals. Afa Aiono's quickfire brace put the islanders 12-0 to the good but Richard Kingi jinxed through to make it 12-7 at the break. Simaika Mikaele then looked to have clinched victory for Samoa but the young Aussies' never-say-die attitude shone through, captain Damon Murphy scoring twice and Richard Kingi first landing a crucial conversion for the lead and then crossing himself for the final score.

England needed a draw against Samoa to go through on points difference, and achieved exactly that from a thrilling game that see-sawed throughout. Alatasi Tupou and Afa Aiono twice put the Samoans ahead but Tom Varndell hit back on both occasions in the first half to trail 12-10. Ollie Phillips then put them ahead but Uale Mai hit back for the islanders and amazingly Ben Gollings reclaimed the lead by five points, before Alafoti Fa'osiliva's try gave Lolo Lui a conversion to wide from out wide. He missed and the 24-all result was enough for England.

The English had earlier recovered well from their day one loss to Australia to score five unanswered tries and beat Portugal 29-0. Tom Varndell put in a strong performance and he and Josh Drauniniu each grabbed a brace, while James Rodwell also scored for injury-hit England, who are down to 9 men in Adelaide and gave an international debut to Mika Taufaao from the reserve player pool.

Day one: Australia's youngsters won a superb victory against the second-ranked team in the World Series England, 21-17. The Australians were quickly off the mark with tries by two 18-year-olds, Domonic Shipperley and the outstanding Luke Morahan, and led 14-0 but England hit back through Tom Varndell and Ollie Phillips to trail by just two points at the half. The England captain Phillips scored again after the break, latching onto Dan Caprice's fine off-load to put his side into the lead, but Richard Kingi set up Shaun Foley for the winning score to send the home crowd into delirium. Earlier, Samoa scored four second-half tries to come from behind and beat a fine Portuguese performance, 26-5. Diogo Mateus scored first for Portugal and they led 5-0 at the break but the Samoans hit back with four in the second half through Afioa'e Maieva, Lolo Lui, Uale Mai and Alafoti Fa'osiliva.


Pool B


Fiji saw off the brave challenge of France and Argentina to win 21-10 and 26-21 to top the group. Nasoni Rokoo was a constant menace against France and opened the scoring and Vereniki Goneva and Niumaia Rokobuli added tries for a 21-0 half time lead, before Joffrey Michel and Yohann Durquet clawed two back for the French. The Fijians then came back from 21-7 down, Niumaia Rokobuli scoring two tries as they defied the odds to beat the Pumas with a fine second half performance.

Argentina earlier won their second pool victory against Scotland 12-7 to ensure their safe passage into the Cup quarter finals as second in the Pool. Martin Miguel Nunez Lasalle and Benjamin Urpadilleta touched down for a 12-0 half time lead and, although Scotland hit back through Roddy Grant, Argentina's defence held them at arm's length.

France finished on a high in the group, beating Scotland 24-12. Les Bleus scored four tries by Paul Albaladejo, Mathieu Acebes, Joffrey Michel and Jacques Boussuge to Scotland's two by Scott Riddell.


Day one: Nasoni Roko and Niumaia Rokobuli both scored two tries as Hong Kong champions Fiji came back from an early one-try deficit to run out 33-7 winners against Scotland. Scott Forrest put the Scots ahead after a minute but the islanders hit back strongly, Orisi Saureki's try rounding off the scoring. Argentina beat France 14-7 with the final play of the match to cap a game of breathless intensity. The Pumas led 7-0 at the break through Martin Rodriguez's first try but Anthony Poujol levelled for the French and the match seemed destined to finish a draw before Rodriguez crossed for his brace in the dying seconds.


Pool C

Julian Savea was on form for the Kiwis, scoring a brace as New Zealand beat Tonga 33-0 - Savea, DJ Forbes and Zar Lawrence all crossed for a 19-0 half time lead and there were further tries for Savea and Luke Hamilton in the second half - and then provided good go-forward along with Ben Souness and Lote Raikabula to inspire New Zealand to a 27-5 win against USA, which also denied the Eagles a place in the Cup quarters and sent Wales through on points difference.

Wales recovered from their opening day loss against the Kiwis to beat USA 24-17, but then lost to the powerful Tongans. Some poor Eagles defence allowed Wales to score four tries through Will Harries, James Merriman, Ifan Evans and Rhys Webb. The US scored three times through Mark Bokhoven (2) and Roland Suniula. However, Tonga claimed a dramatic 26-19 victory against the World Cup winners, coming back from 19-0 down to score 26 unanswered points in response. Wales led at the break after tries by Rhys Webb, Gavin Deacy and Arron Bramwell but the islanders hit back through captain Viliami Ma'afu, Sosaia Palei, Alaska Taufa and Nili Latu.


Day one: New Zealand and USA both opened with victories in Pool C. The Kiwis led 14-0 at half time after tries by Ben Souness and Zar Lawrence but Wales hit back through Will Harries. Julien Savea rounded a off a fine move to extend the NZ lead and Tim Mikkelson put the outcome beyond doubt before a final consolation for Jimmy Norris. USA captain Kevin Swiryn scored a try with the final play of the match to clinch victory for the Eagles against Tonga, 17-14. Matt Hawkins and Justin Boyd clawed back Tonga's lead earned through Vaea Poteki's two tries before Swiryn cut through some lacklustre Tongan defence to win the match in the final flourish.

Pool D

Kenya won a superb one-point victory against South Africa to top Pool D and earn the easier quarter final tie against Wales on day three. The Boks face New Zealand in a mouth-watering clash that could still go some way to deciding the Series title. Kenya led 10-7 at half time after Sidney Ashioya and Gibson Weru responded to Frankie Horne's early try. The Boks were down to five men at one point but played clever possession rugby to retain the ball and Ryno Benjamin put them back ahead, only for Victor Oduor to clinch victory with a fine try late on.


Both African nations earlier sealed their quarter final places, Lionel Mapoe scoring a hat trick in their 43-0 win against Japan - Kyle Brown, Mpho Mbiyozo and Mzwandile Stick (2) also touched down for the impressive Boks - and the Kenyans building on a 10-0 half time lead to beat Cook Islands 27-0. Collins Injera scored two tries and Sidney Ashioya, Allan Onyango and Innocent Simiyu also crossed for tries in a convincing win.

Japan finished their pool campaign with a 20-12 win against the Cook Islands. Lepuha Latuila and Michael Leitch scored for the Cherry Blossoms in the first half and they led 10-7 after Koiatu Koiatu's score but after the break Alisi Tupualiei crossed for a brace to hammer home Japan's win.


Day one: Kenya and Series leaders South Africa both got off to winning starts in Pool D. Brothers Collins Injera and Humphrey Kayange touched down in either half for the Kenyans as they ran out 12-5 winners against brave Japan in the opening match of the tournament. Tongan-born player Alisi Tupuailei scored late on for the Asian side. Robert Ebersohn then scored two first half tries for South Africa, back on the ground where he helped the Boks to Cup success last year, to inspire them to a 28-7 victory in their opening match against the Cook Islands. Renfred Dazel and Vuyo Zangqa scored their other tries, while Adam Vardey touched down for the islanders' fine score.

Day two reaction:

Michael O'Connor, Australia coach

"I have been really proud of the players, it's the first time they've won all of their pool games and I think they're coming together, really starting to believe in each other and being a little bit more accountable.

"These boys were 15-a-side players when I took them over in November and Sevens is a different game tactically and there are some nuances which they are picking up and I think they're a lot fitter too, which helps.

"I do believe that we've been unlucky on certain occasions (this season) but they're making their own luck and we are able to compete with the top sides now, which I haven't been able to confidently say up until this tournament.

"They've got a different resolve about them this week and they've learnt from their mistakes."

Ben Ryan, England coach

"We said beforehand that our Series was over if we lose because we need to pick up points here to give us a chance in London and Edinburgh, where we are going to be very strong, the weather's not going to be like this, and we're not going to have nine men.

"All credit to the boys, they've worked really hard, they were hot and cold at times but we'll take the balance of it and if we can keep doing this, you never know.."

Benjamin Ayimba, Kenya coach

"Beating South Africa for the first time (in pool play in Wellington in February) maybe looked like it was flukish, today it looked like it was outright - South Africa played their hearts out and that just goes to show how much we've developed as a team, and having a really strong bench has also helped us in propping up the game when things are down.

"The reason I'm so confident now is that if we can give the in-form team like South Africa a run for their money, then there shouldn't be anyone else who can come as a hindrance between us and the Cup. We're also even hungrier having come close in Hong Kong and not really done it, and then at the World Cup not achieving what we wanted, which to win the Cup, so we're looking to win this to give us a good standing in the IRB table and also encourage the boys back home to be able to participate more in the game."


The season so far..

Dubai, UAE - South Africa champions, beat England
George, South Africa - South Africa champions, beat New Zealand
Wellington, NZ - England champions, beat New Zealand
San Diego, USA - Argentina champions, beat England
Hong Kong - Fiji champions, beat South Africa

http://www.irb.com/irbsevens/edition...delaide+sevens

[KenyaQuin]

Kenya..hopefully this is it..

[Burgs]

Well done Australia

[robyn <3]

Go Aussie!
Anyone who's there... How's DHP doing? I hope he gets some S14 game time soon, I think he's showing a lot of promise.

[blueandblack]

Go Aussie!
Anyone who's there... How's DHP doing? I hope he gets some S14 game time soon, I think he's showing a lot of promise.

Hes okay when they allow him on the field...in the second half of the few games he gets in.

[oxleymoron]

Hes okay when they allow him on the field...in the second half of the few games he gets in.

Agreed. Will Brock seemed to figure in most games, DHP used sparingly off the bench.