All the top seeds came through the first day to qualify for the Cup quarter finals at the end of the first day of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens on Friday, the opening tournament of the 2009-2010 IRB World Series.
Defending champions and series title holders South Africa faced Fiji in the first of the quarters yesterday, but were aware that New Zealand, matched against Kenya, England who were up against Argentina and Samoa who were to face Australia, all impressed in the pool stages.
South Africa skipper Paul Delport shook off the favorites tag when he said: “Everyone is expecting us to win after our success last year, but the game has progressed and developed. There are many good teams now.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
The ’Boks, drawn in pool A, were given a tough opening game against world champions Wales before claiming the contest 28-14 with tries from Mzwandile Stick, Delport, Ryno Benjamin and Mpho Mbiyozo.
Arabian Gulf were easy prey for South Africa and in their final game, Delport’s side made it look easy against Australia, running in five tries to win 29-0.
In pool B it became clear it would be a straight competition between pacific rivals Fiji and Samoa.
BRUISING BATTLE
In the event, the two teams, having each achieved wins over Scotland and Zimbabwe, fought out a bruising battle that ended in a 12-12 draw. However, Samoa had a better points differential, leaving them to top the group.
“This was a surprise for us. We never expected to be placed first in the pool,” Samoa coach Steven Betham said.
Pool C was all about whether the rapidly improving Kenyans were good enough to overtake last year’s Dubai runners-up, England.
In the shoot out between the two, England were held to a 12-10 scoreline at half-time, but in the second half, tries by Series record points scorer Ben Gollings, speedster Jake Abbot and scrum half Mat Turner made it a comfortable win by 27-10.
Strongly tipped for the Dubai title are New Zealand, who made an emphatic statement in their final pool match against Argentina with a 38-7 win over what was an inexperienced Pumas side.
PULL AWAY
“Argentina stretched us in the first half, but then we were able to pull away and express ourselves,” New Zealand captain DJ Forbes said.
New Zealand look likely to meet South Africa in the first semi-final, while in the second of the semis the odds are on an showdown between England and Samoa.
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
RSS