Defending champions Fiji stepped up a level to put France to the sword in their final pool game at the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament on Friday and set up a quarter-final clash with Kenya.
In-form sides England and South Africa, currently joint leaders of the IRB World Series Sevens, separate from this World Cup, and New Zealand also all progressed into the last-eight of the Cup with wins over Kenya, Scotland and Tonga.
The Cup line-up sees the Kiwis up against Wales, England playing Samoa and the Springboks facing a tough tie against Argentina.
The Fijian team, boasting five members of the squad that won four years ago in Hong Kong, followed up on their 26-12 win over the US by beating the French 38-5, Napolioni Nalaga bagging a brace of tries as the Islanders showed their superior Sevens class.
The elusive Neumi Nanuku, Vereniki Goneva and Jone Daunivucu all added scores for Fiji, who were also awarded a penalty try after France playmaker Laurent Ferreres prevented release of the ball in a tackle on his own line.
Ferreres was also sin-binned for the offense, but came back to score France’s consolation try.
Fiji’s veteran flyer Vilimoni Delasau said: “We are happy for the win and we are very happy to be through to the final stages. Everything has gone to plan so far and the coach has been testing the players in the first two pool games. We have played well for two days, but we have to come prepared for tomorrow because that is the big day.”
South Africa, who had earlier struggled past Canada 15-7, topped Pool C after overcoming Scotland 19-14 with a try in the last play of the game.
In a see-saw match, the Springboks failed to get into their groove against a spoiling Scottish team who scored tries through Andrew Turnbull and Roddy Grant.
The South Africans overcame the sin-binning of Ryno Benjamin to score through Paul Delport, Renfred Dazel and, finally, Mpho Mbiyozo.
Springboks captain Mbiyozo said he was not too concerned about his side’s lack of form.
“You never know, in a World Cup anything can happen. We just have to go out there and stick to what we do best,” Mbiyozo said, adding that Argentina would be a tough proposition.
England, who had beaten Tunisia 26-24 earlier in the day, scored a four tries to one in a 26-7 victory over Kenya, scoring an early touchdown through Kevin Barrett.
But Humphrey Kayange got Kenya back on level terms when he drove in a try under the posts.
International winger Tom Varndell showed his gas to bag England’s second try on the stroke of halftime, motoring away from the covering defense.
Fiji-born British soldier Isoa Damudamu then bagged two individual tries in quick succession in the second half to wrap up the game.
Samoa also remained unbeaten in Pool D after their 19-0 win over Australia, who surprised Portugal by taking second spot in the group.
The Islanders scored tries through veteran Uale Mai, captain Ofisa Treviranus and Morgan Salesa.
New Zealand, defending World Series Sevens champions, scored a scrappy 24-7 win over Tonga to seal their position on top of Pool A.
Argentina beat Wales 14-0 to claim top spot in Pool F, but Wales qualified for the Cup quarters with Kenya after finishing as the two sides with the best points differential.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS