Taiwan were on the receiving end of a pair of hidings in China yesterday, opening their Asia Rugby Sevens Series campaign with a 50-0 loss against Japan and a 37-5 drubbing from the hosts.
The weekend tournament in Qingdao saw Taiwan drawn in Group C with Japan and China, whose match-up resulted in an 21-7 victory for the visitors, who booked themselves a place in today’s Cup competition.
Taiwan’s results saw them into the Bowl division, in which they face the United Arab Emirates at 12:11pm today.
Photo courtesy of Kao Ping-sen, TWRUGBYPIX.com
Against Japan, Taiwan let through Jamie Henry and Teruya Goto for a brace each, while Dai Ozawa, Haruki Saito, Masakatsu Hikosaka and Shohei Toyoshima also dotted down in an eight-try steam-rolling.
In Taiwan’s second game, China scored through hat-tricks by Ma Chong and Jiang Liwei, while Chen Yonqiang and Wang Yakun scored one try each.
The lone scorer for Taiwan was Wei Li-han, with the replacement getting a consolation try against the hosts.
The Qingdao event is the first in the series, of which Hong Kong are the defending champions after sweeping all three tournaments last year.
A top-two finish in the Asian series would ensure a spot in the international qualifiers for the next HSBC Sevens World Series, which begins later this year.
Looming above all this season is the Asia Rugby Sevens Qualifier in November, which would put Asia’s sole men’s team through to next year’s Rio Olympics, where sevens is to debut.
The single-event Olympic qualifier is to be held in Hong Kong on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, involving 12 regional teams, including Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Iran and Kazakhstan.
The China Sevens is also the opening tournament of the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, the first of two events that serve as the prelude to a two-leg qualification series for the Olympics.
Eight Asian women’s teams are taking part in both the series and Olympic qualifiers: Hong Kong, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Uzbekistan.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS