MORE PHOTOS — TOKYO SEVENS ROUND UP: A WEEKEND TO FORGET FOR THE MANU
For only the third time in Rugby World Series history, Samoa competed in a Shield match and this time it was for a loss to Argentina 26 to zip. It was a weekend to forget at the Tokyo Sevens that took place at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Grounds this past Saturday and Sunday
Samoa has just a few days to regroup for the Hong Kong Sevens March 28-30 and Samoa News will be there bringing you all the action during American Samoa’s debut in international play.
The Talavalu American Samoa squad qualified in Oct of last year for the Hong Kong Sevens and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after they edged past Papua New Guinea to claim the 5th place during the 2013 Oceania Sevens tournament hosted by Fiji.
This past weekend, the Hong Kong Sevens defending champions Fiji beat Tokyo Sevens defending champions South Africa 33-26 in a thrilling final in Tokyo on Sunday. Fiji secured their second title of the 2013/14 IRB Sevens World Series; they also won the Dubai leg after outscoring South Africa by five tries to four.
Earlier, South Africa beat England 17-0 for a fourth consecutive final while two DJ Forbes tries were not enough as New Zealand suffered a 17-12 defeat in the Cup semi-finals falling to Fiji.
The South Africa Springbok Sevens team ‘Blitzbokke’ had to work hard in their quarter-final, eventually beating the USA 17-12 after USA had a spectacular first day.
England finished the tournament in third place and collected 17 Series points after beating New Zealand 21-12 having lost their two previous third place play-offs this season.
Semi-finals:
South Africa 17-0 England
Fiji 17-12 New Zealand
Quarter-finals:
South Africa 17-12 USA
England 14-10 Canada
Fiji 43-19 Kenya
New Zealand 21-12 Australia
Plate Final:
Australia 17-12 USA
Plate semi-finals:
Australia 36-0 Kenya
USA 28-15 Canada
Bowl Final:
Wales 28-21 Scotland
Bowl semi-finals:
Wales 24-19 Japan
Scotland 21-12 France
Earlier, Japan recorded their best-ever performance against a core side, beating Samoa 42-12 in the Bowl semi final to the delight of the home crowd in what was also a first win against the Pacific islanders in their 16th encounter.
Shield Final:
Argentina 26-0 Samoa
Shield semi-finals:
Samoa 24-12 Spain
Argentina 24-21 Portugal
DAY ONE RESULTS
Pool A: New Zealand, Canada, Wales, Portugal
Results: New Zealand 43-5 Wales, Canada 40-5 Portugal, New Zealand 40-7 Scotland, Canada 17-17, Wales 29-7 Portugal, New Zealand 22-17 Canada
Pool B: South Africa, Argentina, Kenya, Japan
Results: South Africa 26-12 Kenya, Argentina 14-14, Kenya 24-7 Argentina, South Africa 33-5 Japan, Kenya 12-7 Japan, South Africa 28-12 Argentina
Pool C: Fiji, Samoa, France, USA
Results: Fiji 22-19 France, USA 24-17 Samoa, Fiji 19-19 USA, Samoa 28-14 France, France 22-12 USA, Fiji 33-7 Samoa
Pool D: England, Australia, Scotland, Spain
Results: England 36-0 Scotland, Australia 28-7 Spain, England 29-0 Spain, Australia 26-19 Scotland, Scotland 24-5 Spain, England 24-21 Australia
SEE YOU IN HONG KONG!