IRB Sevens: Boks end Kiwi run
Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:09
South Africa ended New Zealand's year-long domination by beating them 15-7 in the Final at the Adelaide tournament, Round Six of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens World Series, on Sunday.
It was the third-successive tournament in which these two countries had faced each other in the Final, but the first time the Boks scored the win. They based their victory on rock-solid defence and the play-making abilities of Fabian Juries.
Juries, the second-highest try scorer of all time on the circuit, was duly named Man of the Tournament.
The defending Series champions, New Zealand, still lead the overall standings comfortably - despite their seven-tournament run coming to an end.
They now have 126 points, 28 ahead of the second placed South Africans - who still have a remote chance of catching the Kiwis in the two remaining tournaments. Fiji remain third on 74 points, followed by Samoa (68 points).
In other finals Tonga held on in the face of a late rally to beat crowd favourites Kenya 14-12 in the Plate Final, while Argentina beat North American rivals United States 26-21 in the Bowl Final. The Shield Final was won by Wales, who needed extra time to edge Canada 12-7.
Earlier New Zealand accounted for Fiji in the semifinals and South Africa needed extra time to edge Samoa, after coming from behind to draw level.
The Kiwis scraped through a physical tussle with Tonga to make the Cup semifinals, with South Africa having progressed through to the semifinals at the expense of Kenya.
In a carnival atmosphere of 17,000 fans at the Adelaide Oval hosts Australia fell to the classy Fijians 28-7 and played Tonga in the Plate semifinals.
Follow all the Day Two play-off action here!
Day Two - Sunday, 6 April:
Bowl quarterfinal:
USA heaped more misery on
England as Chris Wyles scored in sudden death extra time to take the game 26-19 and set up a match against Scotland, who beat fellow home nation Wales 17-12 with a try by Scott Forrest after the full time siren.
England also went on to lose against Wales in the Shield semi final, meaning they leave Adelaide without a single victory.
Argentina proved too strong for Japan, 24-12, to set up a Bowl semi against France,. The French scored three second half tries through Manoel Dall Igna, Joffrey Michel and Emeric Chretien to overhaul a 19-7 half time deficit against Canada.
Results:
Match 25: Argentina 24 - Japan 12
Match 26: France 28 - Canada 19
Match 27: USA 26 - England 19
Match 28: Wales 12 - Scotland 17
Cup quarterfinal:
A late DJ Forbes try kept New Zealand’s quest for an eighth straight IRB Sevens
World Series title intact as they overcame Tonga 19-14 in a thrilling Cup quarter final.
Down 14-12 inside the final two minutes against the bruising Tongans, captain Forbes showed immense strength to score from the back of a ruck and set up a semi final against Fiji.
Fiji always looked comfortable against Australia, running in three second half tries to see off the host nation 28-7. The Australians were resolute in defence in the first half but the Fijians showed all their attacking flair after the break with three long range tries, Timoci Matanavou again proving a match winner for the islanders out wide.
South Africa also progress through to the semi finals at the expense of Kenya, 19-5 and Samoa were too classy for their Pacific counterpart Cook Islands, winning 48-0 to set up the same semi final line up as last weekend in Hong Kong.
Results:
Match 29: New Zealand 19 - Tonga 14
Match 30:
Fiji 28 - Australia 7
Match 31: South Africa 19 - Kenya 5
Match 32: Samoa 48 - Cook Islands 0
Shield semifinal:
Canada saw off the challenge of Japan, while Wales beat England, who went without a single win for the first time ever in an IRB Sevens event.
Results:
Match 33: Japan 19 - Canada 24
Match 34: England 14 - Wales 19
Bowl semifinal:
A Chris Wyles hat trick inspired USA to a 29-14 win against Scotland and a bowl final against Argentina, for whom captain Santiago Gomez Cora was impressive in their match against France.
Results:
Match 35: Argentina 24 - France 12
Match 36: USA 29 - Scotland 14
Plate semifinal:
Tonga and Kenya both won through to the final of the Plate with respective victories over Australia and the Cook Islands.
Two tries to Vaea Poteki gave the Tongans a 14-7 half time lead against the hosts and a Teu Nafe try in the second half ended their hopes.
Results:
Match 37: Tonga 21 - Australia 7
Match 38: Kenya 26 - Cook Islands 14
Cup semifinal:
A last gasp try by Zar Lawrence saw the kiwis home against Fiji, 17-14, after they trailed for much of a tight and scrappy match.
Lepani Nabuliwaqa looked to have gifted the Fijians a first victory against their great rivals since last year's Adelaide event but first Solomon King and then Lawrence hit back to break their hearts. Earlier a late DJ Forbes try had kept New Zealand’s quest for an eighth straight title intact as they came from behind to beat Tonga
19-14 in a thrilling Cup quarter final.
South Africa first beat off the challenge of Kenya, 19-5, before Fabian Juries chased and touched down his own kick to score the winner for the Boks in sudden death extra time against the Samoans.
Results:
Match 39: New Zealand 17 - Fiji 14
Match 40: South Africa 17 - Samoa 12
Shield Final:
After an intense opening spell, Canada opened the scoring when Philip Mack went over after five minutes in the first half. That was the only score in a tightly contested opening spell.
After the break the Canadians controlled possession and had Wales under immense pressure in the opening spell, but poor options robbed them of a couple of scoring chances. The Welsh didn't aid their cause by giving away several penalties at the breakdown.
With less than 20 second left on the clock Richard Pugh finally found a gap in the Canadian defence to sprint clear for a score that sent the Final into extra time. And the winning score came from James Lewis, as the Welsh put in a concerted rush after the restart.
Result:
Match 41: Canada 7 - Wales 12
Bowl final:
The Argentineans opened the scoring in the third minute, when Nicolas Bruzzone scored after following through on his own kick ahead. However, Nese Malifa left the Puma defence flat-footed moments later to level it up at 7-all. From the restart Ramiro del Busto went over to put the South Americans back in the lead. The US had a chance to hit back, but a handling error saw the move break down just 20 metres out. Santiago Gomez Cora then scored his 191st try to put the Pumas 19-7 ahead at the break.
Some great stepping by Jone Naqica saw the Americans pull the gap back to just five points at 14-19 early in the second half. And Todd Clever went over just moments later, with the conversion putting the US in the lead with three minutes left on the clock. But the ding-dong nature of the Final continued as Gabriel Ascarate scored from the restart - making it 26-21 for the Pumas. There was more drama to follow, as a dubious penalty handed the ball back to the Pumas, who hacked into touch for the win.
It was a winning send-off for record try-scorer Gomez Cora, who played in his 49th and most likely final Sevens tournament on the IRB circuit.
Result:
Match 42: Argentina 26 - USA 21
Plate Final:
Peasipa Moimoi opened the scoring for Tonga, as the Pacific Islanders controlled possession in the early stages. Crowd favourites Kenya hit back through Peter Ocholla, to level the scores with two minutes remaining in the first half. Ualosi Kailea put Tonga back in the lead just before the break as he sprinted round the outside of a tiring Kenyan defence.
Collins Injera got one back for Kenya early in the second half, but the conversion was wide - leaving Tonga still two points ahead at 14-12. Kenya made a desperate attempt to get that winning score, but they simply could hold onto the ball long enough.
It also didn't help that they lost Innocent Simiyu to a serious ankle injury, while he was trying to step an opponent. It allowed the Tongans to hold on for a good win.
Result:
Match 43: Tonga 14 - Kenya 12
Cup Final:
The early exchanges were marked by the physical nature of the contact made by the two teams at the breakdown. It was South Africa's teenage sensation Robert Ebersohn who opened the scoring as he sprinted down the left touchline. The Springboks piled on the pressure and forced the Kiwis to take a rare kicking option.
The Kiwis' defence held strong and they managed to turn the ball over just inside the Bok half. But the Boks turned it over at a scrum and broke downfield, with only desperate defence pulling down the runners ... just metres from the line. Two turnovers saw Lote Raikabula break downfield, but the Boks' solid defence saw them regain the ball, with Fabian Juries scoring the try after a breakout from within their own 22 to make it 10-0 at the break.
An early second-half knock-on handed the ball to the Kiwis in an ideal attacking position and Victor Vito obliged as he busted through the tackles of tiring defenders - making it 7-10. The Boks were denied soon afterwards by the bounce of the ball and it allowed the Kiwis to get back on the attack.
South Africa's star performer, Fabian Juries, then stretched his team's lead to 15-7, scoring a try set up by a turnover and great hands from young Ebersohn. The Kiwis broke out from the restart, but a great cover tackle dislodged the ball and the Boks could breathe again.
There were some tense moments, with both teams desperate to get hold of the ball, but the tiring legs and minds just wouldn't co-operate as the Boks held on for a famous win. For South Africa it was joy and jubilation as they ended a year-long, seven-tournament domination of IRB tournaments by the Kiwis.
Result:
Match 44: New Zealand 7 - South Africa 15
