Rugby minnows Portugal enjoyed a memorable first day at the South African leg of the World Sevens Series on Friday.
Portugal surprised not only their opponents, but probably themselves, when they qualified for the Cup quarter-finals after winning all three of their matches in Pool D.
With a team made up largely of players who specialize in the 15-man code, they kicked off their day with a 14-12 win over African giant-killers Kenya and followed that up with a first ever triumph over Sevens powerhouse Samoa 19-17.
They then beat Wales 19-17 to top Pool D.
Despite finishing second in their pool, it wasn’t the best of days for the Samoans, who not only lost to Portugal, but were made to fight all the way in downing Kenya 17-12.
SHOCKS
Portugal were not the only side to cause an upset on the day. The US shocked all by beating the far more fancied Australia 28-26, while Zimbabwe recorded an emphatic 17-7 win against Scotland.
Fiji, with a three from three record, topped Pool C, followed by Argentina, Zimbabwe and Scotland.
World Sevens series title holders and defending champions in south Africa, New Zealand, made up for their slip-up in the semi-finals against England in Dubai a week ago by beating them in their final Pool A match of the day, 19-7.
New Zealand also picked up comfortable wins against France (40-5) and Tunisia (36-0) and D.J. Forbes’ team finished top of their pool, with England second.
DUBAI CHAMPIONS
Hosts and champions from Dubai last week, South Africa, in their quest to win their first home tournament, advanced to the Cup quarter-finals after a perfect record.
They started with a 24-0 win over the US and followed that up with an even better display in beating Georgia 31-5, but were made to sweat in the last match of the day against Australia, eventually running out 17-7 winners.
The US, with two wins from their three matches, finished second in the pool and advanced to the Cup quarter-finals.
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
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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