MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

South Africa, Argentina and Australia are all beaten on day one of the HSBC France Sevens in Toulouse

By

But, South Africa still lead the men’s Series standings with 111 points, ahead of Argentina on 105 and Australia on 100.

The three contenders for the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title faced setbacks on a thrilling opening day at the HSBC France Sevens as South Africa, Argentina and Australia suffered shock defeats, but women’s champions Australia showed no signs of slowing down in Toulouse.

The full complement of 16 men’s and 12 women’s teams lined up for the first time at the Stade Ernest-Wallon, which plays host to the final event of the women’s 2022 Series and the third-last of the men’s campaign.

The battle for the men’s Series title is tight at the top, with 11 points separating the top three teams ahead of the France event: South Africa (111 points), Argentina (105) and Australia (100).

But all three were beaten on Friday, as South Africa suffered their first-ever Series defeat to an impressive Ireland side, before the USA took down Australia and Canada snatched a late win over second-ranked Argentina, winners of the previous round in Vancouver.

HSBC France Sevens Ronald Brown
South Africa’s Ronald Brown scores a try against Spain on day one of the HSBC France Sevens men’s competition at Stade Toulousain on 20 May, 2022 in Toulouse, France. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Those results leave the race for the men’s Series title wide open, with England, France, New Zealand and Samoa topping the four Pools ahead of Saturday’s action.

With four victories from the opening five rounds Australia were crowned women’s Series champions in Langford earlier this month and they are on course to finish the season on a high after kicking off with back-to-back wins over South Africa and Fiji.

However, they could face fierce competition once again from Olympic gold medallists New Zealand, who scored 74 points without reply in their victories over Scotland and Spain, in just their second Series appearance of the season after Langford.

Hosts France also kicked off with two wins from two to the delight of the vibrant and youthful home crowd, as did Canada and Ireland.

The unique rankings points system for the 2022 Series sees only the four best results from each team count towards the final standings and the battle for the silver and bronze medals is on.

In the men’s Series it is still all to play for with six of the nine rounds completed. The unique scoring system for 2022 means only the best seven results from the nine rounds will count towards each team’s final Series standings.

The action continues in Toulouse on Saturday as pool play is concluded in both the men’s and women’s tournaments in the morning before the quarter-finals take place in the evening. The finals take place on Sunday and remaining tickets are available from only 10 euros at https://billetterie.ffr.fr/

Play begins at 09:30 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday when Spain face Scotland in women’s Pool B, and the pool action will conclude with Ireland’s exciting Pool C clash with France at 11:30.

Australia face a big test against USA at 10:36 in one of the most eye-catching games of the final round of pool fixtures. The women’s Cup quarter-finals get underway at 17:42.

In the men’s event, Ireland face Spain at 12:00 for their concluding Pool D fixture, and the final round of pool games will be played out in succession between then and a mouth-watering clash between Fiji and hosts France at 14:34.

The men’s Cup quarter-finals begin at 18:04 with the last match kicking off at 21:03 to conclude the day’s action.

Rugby sevens fans around the world can watch the action via live stream on World Rugby digital platforms including www.world.rugby, You Tube and Facebook in countries where there is no national broadcaster covering the event.

Go On – Share the Gqeberha Love!

Post Views: 74

Gqeberha’s Latest News and Events can be accessed on MyGqeberha.com.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.