Wellington Sevens: BlitzBoks too strong for Fiji
After wins against Japan and Australia the BlitzBoks had to beat Fiji in their final game to top the Pool and they did it in style winning 31-12.
Joining South Africa, Fiji and France in the quarterfinals are hosts New Zealand, who also ended Day One unbeaten.
England, Argentina, Canada and Scotland are the other four teams in the quarterfinals.
Cup quarterfinal fixtures:
England v Scotland
New Zealand v Fiji
Canada v Argentina
South Africa v France
Round Three wrap:
Pool A:
(England, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Argentina)
England ended Kenya's hopes of a place in the Cup quarterfinals when they thrashed the Africans 31-12.
Dan Norton had too much pace for the Kenyan defence when he ran in for the first try of the game before Dan Bibby chased his own chip before scoring down England's second try.
England went further in front when Tom Mitchell went over for a score before Kenya hit back with a Willy Ambaka try. At half-time, it was 17-7 to England.
In the second half, Kenya tried their best to fight back, but another two England tries put the game to bed.
After losing a matching and winning one, Argentina made sure that they saw off Papua New Guinea to progress to the Cup quarterfinals.
In the first half, Franco Sabato outmuscled three defenders to skip over the line for the opening score.
But, after Nicolas Menendez was sent to the sin-bin, Papua New Guinea's William Tirang went under the bar for his second try at his first Sevens Series tournament.
Argentina regained the lead with their second try of the game soon after, but again Papua New Guinea hit back with a score of their own to level the scores at 14-14 at the break.
However, Argentina went into a higher gear in the second half and scored another five tries for a 41-14 win.
Results:
England 31-12 Kenya
Argentina 41-14 Papua New Guinea
Kenya 47-5 Japan
England 26-7 Argentina
England 40-0 Papua New Guinea
Argentina 17-12 Kenya
Pool B:
(Fiji, Australia, South Africa, Japan)
In the match of the day between South Africa and Fiji, Werner Kok started the game like a man possessed and opened the scoring after surviving a bad high tackle.
With Fiji down a man after a yellow card, the BlitzBoks took full advantage of the situation with Seabelo Senatla easing in for his team's second try of the game.
Fiji tried to get back in the game, but a mistake in midfield led to a speedy counterattack with Justin Geduld sprinting in for another score.
With a minute to go until half-time, it was Jerry Tuwai who got Fiji back into the game with a breakaway converted try down the touchline. At half-time, it was 17-7 to the BlitzBoks.
Fiji needed to be the first to score in the second half and they did exactly that when Joeli Lutumailagi finished off an incredible sequence of play.
However, the BlitzBoks had breathing space again two minutes later when Senatla scooped up a loose Fiji pass to score his second try of the game.
Siviwe Soyizwapi then put the game to bed when he went over for a try with just seconds left on the clock. In the end, the BlitzBoks won 31-12.
With their hopes of making the Cup quarterfinals already over, Australia wanted to make sure that they at least finished third in their Pool.
They started the game against Japan brilliantly and soon found themselves leading 26-0 at the break after scoring four tries.
Japan outscored their opponents by two tries to one in the second half and can feel proud of their performance despite going down 12-33.
Results:
South Africa 31-12 Fiji
Australia 33-12 Japan
South Africa 28-0 Australia
Fiji 56-0 Japan
Fiji 26-12 Australia
South Africa 33-0 Japan
Pool C:
(New Zealand, Samoa, USA, France)
There was a lot at stake in the match between New Zealand and the USA and it showed on the field.
The USA were the first to strike when they capitalised on a New Zealand mistake and found the space that allowed Stephen Tomasin to go shooting over for a try.
The hosts hit back, however, as Vilimoni Koroi sauntered over for his first-ever Sevens Series career try.
Tim Mikkelson was then sent to the sin-bin for foul play and the USA made the most of the final play of the first half with Danny Barrett crashing over for a try. At half-time, it was the USA with a 12-7 lead.
In the second half, New Zealand managed to get back on level terms with a try before Mikkelson put his team in front with a great try.
With time drawing to a close, Isaac Te Tamaki put the game to bed with another try to seal a 24-12 win for his team.
France needed a win against Samoa to put pressure on the USA and they did just with 28-5 result.
However, Les Bleus were behind early when Alamanda Motuga flew through the field to the tryline for the opening score.
France utilised all their experience to find a way to win this match and scores from Jean Pascal Barraque and Julien Candelon meant they lead at the halfway point.
Barraque and Candelon again scored in the second half to seal the win.
Results:
New Zealand 24-12 USA
France 28-5 Samoa
New Zealand 21-14 France
USA 24-12 Samoa
New Zealand 33-5 Samoa
USA 21-21 France
Pool D:
(Wales, Canada, Scotland, Russia)
After starting with a loss to Canada and then a narrow win over Russia, Scotland booked their place in the Cup quarterfinals with a convincing 31-7 win over Wales.
It was all Scotland in the first half and they scored two tries to take a 12-0 lead into the half-time break.
Wales hit back in the second half when Owen Jenkins picked up a lovely ball on the inside and went past the defence to score.
However, it was all Scotland after that as they scored three more tries with Glenn Bryce rounding off their win with a last-minute score.
After securing their place in the Cup quarterfinals with wins over Wales and Scotland, Canada could enter their match with Russia without any added pressure.
It was a blistering start for the Canadians with Harry Jones opening the scoring in the first minute before Justin Douglas added a second.
In the second half, it was Douglas again who crossed the whitewash for his 10th 2016-17 Seven Series try before Mike Fuailefau took full of advantage of some weak Russian defending to score his team's fourth try.
Canada scored their fifth and final try in the 13th minute for a 29-0 win.
Results:
Scotland 31-7 Wales
Canada 29-0 Russia
Wales 5-28 Canada
Scotland 12-5 Russia
Wales 33-0 Russia
Scotland 19-28 Canada
CLICK HERE for latest Pool standings!
