Coach Gordon Tietjens pronounced himself “pretty happy” as IRB World Series champions New Zealand secured three comfortable victories on the first day of the Dubai Sevens to book a quarter-final clash with Kenya.
Wins over Wales and Zimbabwe were followed up with a solid 33-7 success over Australia as the Dubai trophy holders stepped up a gear in their final outing of the day.
New Zealand are on course for a semi-final meeting in the opening leg of the new world series with England, who were arguably the most impressive performers of the day with a 28-5 defeat of Fiji capping a fine series of displays.
PHOTO: AFP
Tietjens said: “We were a bit scratchy at times but we also did a lot of good things. “You always have to be happy with three wins, and we put on a good performance against Australia.”
Tomasi Cama claimed two tries in the defeat of Wales while Tim Nanai-Williams finished with a personal tally of 26 points, thanks to four tries and three conversions, in the 43-7 success against Zimbabwe.
England were without world record points scorer Ben Gollings, who rested a calf injury, but still had too much expertise for Portugal, the USA and then Fiji.
Coach Ben Ryan said: “Self-belief has gone through the roof. It was a real gamble not to play Ben Gollings but he will be fit for tomorrow [Saturday].”
Fijian-born players Isoa Damu and Josua Drauniniu both played important roles for England who now meet Argentina in the last eight. In the other half of the draw, South Africa booked a quarter-final against Australia on the back of three comfortable victories.
Two tries from Ryno Benjamin helped power Paul Treu’s squad to an opening 31-10 defeat of Scotland before South Africa then eased past hosts the Gulf and then Kenya.
Coach Rudi Moors said Samoa need to “step up a level” despite recording three victories in pool play to secure a quarter-final against rivals Fiji.
He said: “We got the results but we did not perform well. We know the second day is a different tournament and we must now raise things and be more consistent.”
A try in time added on from Lolo Lui spared Samoa’s blushes in their opening game against France before Mikaele Pesamino touched down twice in the 33-7 defeat of Georgia.
Lui, Ofisa Treviranus and Apelu Fa’aiuga were the try scorers in Samoa’s last outing of the day, against Argentina.
Earlier, Santiago Gomez Cora became the first man in World Series history to reach the 200-try mark with a hat-trick for Argentina in the 26-7 win over Georgia.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB