Despite
a strong turnaround from hosts Australia, the defending champions from
New Zealand and an implacable South Africa unit were the only undefeated
teams after Day One of the HSBC World Series Rugby sevens opener on
Australia's Gold Coast.Boosted by a partisan home crowd, Australia will
now face-off against a very slick Kenyan side in a rematch of the 2012
quarter-final after a slow strat at the rugby sevens world series opener
on the Gold Coast,Buy Cheap Abercrombie Men's Fleece Saturday.The
defending champions New Zealand got off to a typically ruthless start,
smashing all before them in their first three pool matches.The New
Zealanders didn't let in a single point on the first day of action.Sir
Gordon Tietjens' side walloped USA (38-0),China Spill Pallet SL series then
a hapless Tonga (26-0) and finally the usually stalwart Kenyans (31-0)
and will now most likely ride rough-shod over a weakened Samoa in the
Cup quarter finals.South Africa' s powerful sevens unit - popularly
known as 'The Blitzbokke,' kept a clean slate and a 100 percent record
and will now take on a fiery Welsh outifit.Wales' 22-19 win ensured they
went through to the quarter-finals at Canada's expense and they'll face
South Africa for a semi-final spot.It was an unpleasant day at the
office for Canada, who lost inspirational captain Nathan Hirayama to a
badly broken leg.Australia began their day by surrendering a 21-point
lead to hang-n barely for a 21-all draw with Scotland, but rebounded
with string performances in wins over Argentina and Samoa to move into
the final eight.The hosts Australia bounced back from a 21-21 draw with
Scotland, a match in which they led 21-0, to win their matches with
Argentina and Samoa to the delight of the home crowd to set up a quarter
final with Kenya, who beat Tonga and USA in their first two matches
before coming up against the reigning Series champions.Sean McMahon
bagged Australia's first try of their home tournament, but they were
stunned into meek submission when Scottish flyer James Fleming scored
with the last play of the match.Former Australian Seven' s
representative Jacob Taylor told Xinhua there was still a lot to like
about an Australian team in transition."The Gold Coast Sevens is the
first fixture of the World Series, and so its exciting because you see a
lot of new talent come out of the wood work."In the Australian side I'm
looking forward to watching Shannon Walker baffle the opposition
defense - he's an incredibly illusive runner. Also looking for veteran
James Stannard to make his mark on this year's series,Snow plough suppliers he
has the capacity to control the tempo of the game which is a rare skill
in such a fast-paced, frenetic sport like sevens," Taylor added.
In
game two for the hosts, Nick Malouf ran in a duet in the 22-7 win over
'Los Pumas' before some fine tackling rammed home a tight 12-0 win over
Samoa, with tries from captain Ed Jenkins and Shannon Walker.Effectively
another Chinese unsung invention - Sevens was unofficially born in Hong
Kong - today's international Sevens, with seven players on a team,
playing seven minute halves across a weekend of competition, has become a
stadium sport in its own right.Wholesale Outerwears cheap OuterwearsIn
1982, sevens outgrew its original home at the Hong Kong Football Club
and was relocated to the massive Hong Kong Stadium and - as ticket
demands regularly outstretched capacity - the stadium was rebuilt in
1994 as the 40,000 cauldron it is today.Adopting a naming-rights sponsor
in 2011, the HSBC Sevens World Series now boasts a core of 16 of the
world' s top teams which compete in tournaments across the globe.New
Zealand has claimed the Sevens World Series on eight occasions since its
inception with Fiji,South Africa and Samoa the only other winners.For
fans on the Gold Coast, redemption is in the air, as the Australians
have never won a title, despite featuring regularly in the top three in
three of the 11 seasons - 1999/00, 2000/01 and 2009/10.Sevens Rugby now
enjoys Olympic status and is set to make its first appearance on the
playing roster, in the men's and women's competitions, in 2016 in Rio de
Janeiro.Buy Cheap Abercrombie Men's SweatersTaylor
told Xinhua that the carnival atmosphere of Sevens rugby is an
important part of its success."Above all the Gold Coast Sevens is a good
day out for the spectators and so I'd love to see a healthy crowd
dressed to the hilt enjoying the carnival that is Rugby Sevens.Samoa's
defeat means they now have the unenviable task of trying to topple the
in-form New Zealanders, who are aiming to go one better after losing the
past two finals on the Gold Coast.The defending world champions
kicked-off their campaign in imperious style, winning all three matches
and scoring 95 unanswered points along the way to send out a warning to
the rest of the competition.Two-time tournament champions Fiji were a
shodow of their fearsome selves yet still managed to top their pool
while hardly firing a shot in anger and losing to the frisky Welsh in
their final game.Fiji will now face a lightning quick England, who
enjoyed a 54-7 feast of undercooked - bordering on raw - Spanish
defence.
No comments:
Post a Comment