![LV= Cup [Anglo-Welsh]](images/LV Cup 2011 SB.jpg)
TOKYO 7s 2015
DAY 2
ENGLAND won their first Cup title since the 2013 Wellington Sevens, beating South Africa 21-14 in the final of the Tokyo Sevens, round seven of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
HIGHLIGHTS
Stout defence and brilliant individual tries from Charlie Hayter, Tom Mitchell and Phil Burgess provided the foundations of an enthralling win to put England back into the top four in the standings for the first time since before the Dubai Sevens and have a nine point lead over Australia who lost in the Bowl final to USA.
"The way the guys fought for that win was brilliant," enthused England coach Simon Amor after his side's win. "It's fantastic for us and a great climax for us to go back to the UK now. I am so proud for the players, they've worked so hard for this."
Runners-up South Africa extend their lead at the top having earlier beaten Fiji in the Cup semi final with the Blitzboks on 129 points, four ahead of Fiji and nine ahead of New Zealand who won the Plate. The top four at the end of the nine rounds will qualify for the Olympics.
Hosts Japan, appearing in their first Cup competition since 2000 gain 10 points and move within eight points of Portugal at the bottom of the table with the European side winning the Shield. The 15th placed side after London will be relegated and replaced by Russia, who qualified last week in Hong Kong.
Earlier on day two, Canada recorded history beating New Zealand for the first time while England defeated Canada 14-5 in their semi final.
While Hayter established an early 7-0 lead for Simon Amor's side, before a converted try to Burgess ended Canada's promising tournament run, after they had earlier recorded an historic first-ever win over New Zealand in the quarter finals.
ALL BLACK SEVENS BEAT SCOTS IN PLATE CLIFF HANGER
A first-half brace to Sherwin Stowers helped New Zealand to a consolation 21-14 win in the Plate final over Scotland. Lee Jones and Colin Gregor, overtaking Waisale Serevi in the all-time leading points scorers tally, kept the Scots in the match with a try apiece either side of the break to level but Dylan Collier broke the deadlock after the hooter had sounded.
Earlier Scotland ended Japan's tournament 14-5. Tries to Gregor and James Fleming proved too much for the hosts despite Shunya Goto giving the home side a chance before half time.
New Zealand beat France 19-12, a Stowers try either side of half time providing the spark for the All Blacks Sevens after Les Blues had taken an early 7-0 lead through Steeve Barry. Beaudine Waaka and Julien Candelon traded tries in the second half, but Gordon Tietjens' side progressed.
USA WIN BOWL IN EXTRA-TIME THRILLER
The USA beat Australia 17-12 in sudden-death extra-time with Perry Baker scoring the decisive try in the corner in an enthralling Bowl final.
Geraint John's Australia led the Eagles 12-5 at half time after tries to Pama Fou and Ed Jenkins before Danny Barrett brought his side back into the match levelling the scores at 12-12 with a breakaway try up the midfield.
"I can't ask anymore of this team they battled and fought right to end and eventually we outlasted the Aussies," said Madison Hughes. "From one to 12 we showed great heart. I am so proud to be part of this team."
Earlier, Australia secured a last-gasp 17-12 win over Wales to reach the final while the USA beat Samoa 22-5, Carlin Isles scoring a brace for Mike Friday's side and captain Hughes Danny Barrett also contributing five-pointers.
PORTUGAL TAKE SHIELD FINAL
A second half fight back from Portugal led by Pedro Leal handed them a 12-7 win after Argentina took the early advantage through German Schulz. It was a perfectly executed kick-and-chase try to Leal followed up by a Jose Vareta solo effort handing the Portuguese a deserved win.
Portugal head coach Pedro Neto Fernandez was pleased to end the weekend on a high: "It's a trophy and three points. We've worked hard for this and it's good to get some silverware. We can only be concerned with ourselves and see what happens in Scotland."
Earlier Portugal beat a gutsy Hong Kong 19-17 as the game went down to the wire while Segundo Tuculet picked up a hat-trick as Los Pumas made their way to the Shield final with a 17-12 win over Kenya.
DAY 1
DEFENDING champions Fiji and current series leaders South Africa are the only two sides with 100 per cent records heading into the Cup quarter-finals after an enthralling opening day of action at the Tokyo Sevens, round seven of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
HIGHLIGHTS
The top two seeds in the standings will face Japan and Scotland respectively at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground, with the hosts progressing to their first Cup quarter-final since 2000. Despite losing to France 24-19, Japan drew with Argentina 14-14 and beat Samoa 26-12 to qualify.
In the other Cup quarter-finals New Zealand, who suffered only an eighth defeat in 61 matches to trans-Tasman rivals Australia, will face Canada and France await England.
POOL A
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3 
4 
A ruthless Fiji beat England 33-19 in the pool decider as Ben Ryan's side booked their place in the quarter-finals including doubles from Semi Kunatani and Vatemo Ravouvou. A late double to England's Jeff Williams gave Simon Amor's side some momentum but it was a second defeat in two weeks against the Pacific Islanders.
Earlier, the defending Tokyo champions beat Hong Kong 35-14 with Amenoni Nasilasila scoring twice, and Wales 19-10 after the Hong Kong champions scored through Samisoni Viriviri, Osea Kolinisau and Savenaca Rawaca.
England played out a hard-fought 10-7 win over Wales but were full of running earlier in their 33-0 win over Hong Kong. Marcus Watson and Tom Bowen scored first half tries for a 12-0 lead before a second-half brace to Dan Norton and a try to James Rodwell secured the win.
POOL B
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3 
4 
New Zealand topped Pool B, despite losing to Australia 19-14 in their final match. After two shock losses to Portugal and Scotland Geraint John's side recorded a consolation 19-14 win over their trans-Tasman neighbours, only their eighth in 61 matches, thanks to tries from Con Foley, Greg Jeloudev and Cameron Clark.
The All Blacks Sevens earlier beat Portugal 26-7 after scoring six unanswered tries in a convincing 38-0 win over Scotland, Tim Mikkelson picking up a brace as the Scots struggled to contain Sir Gordon Tietjens' side.
Meanwhile Scotland joined New Zealand in the quarter-finals defeating Portugal 17-12, who pulled off an unexpected 12-10 win over Australia earlier in the day. With scores locked at 7-7 after a try apiece to Fraser Lyle and Nuno Guedes, Damien Hoyland scored a brace for Callum MacRae's side to advance to the final eight.
Portugal caused the first major upset of the Tokyo Sevens by defeating Australia 12-10, their first victory over Geraint John's side since the Plate final at the 2009 London Sevens as the Tokyo Sevens got underway.
POOL C
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3 
4 
Series leaders South Africa won all three of their matches, proving too strong for Canada, Kenya and USA. The Blitzboks scored four unanswered tries in their 26-0 win against Kenya after earlier accounting for Canada 29-7, Seabelo Senatla the star with three tries before Kyle Brown, Cecil Afrika, Werner Kok and Ruhan Nel scored in the 24-15 win against Mike Friday's side.
Despite losses to South Africa and the USA, Canada moved though to the quarter-finals, courtesy of a better points differential, after defeating Kenya 26-10 in their final pool match. A Ciaran Hearn brace gave Canada a 14-0 lead before Leonard Mugaisi posted first points for Kenya. Canada extended their lead through tries to Justin Douglas and Conor Trainor before another late try to Mugaisi.
A Carlin Isles hat-trick inspired the USA to a 22-14 win over Canada after their earlier shock loss to Kenya before the African nation, currently 12th in the overall series standings, upset seventh placed USA with veteran Collins Injera scoring a brace in his side's 27-5 win, becoming the 11th player to reach 1,000 series points in the process.
POOL D
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France defeated Japan 24-19 in their final pool match to secure a top eight berth, while the Brave Blossoms also qualified in second to reach a first Cup quarter-final since 2000. Les Bleus started brightly with tries to Manoel Dall Igna and Steeve Barry sparking the hosts into action with Japan responding thanks to tries from Yoshikazu Fujita and star Lomano Lemeki to lead 14-12 at half-time. Dall Igna's second edged France ahead before teammate Vincent Inigo sealed the win.
France beat Argentina 17-7 scoring three tries to one to ensure the race for quarter-final spots remains wide open with one pool match remaining. Earlier, France led Samoa 12-0 at half-time after tries to Virimi Vakatawa and Steve Parez but the Cup semi-finalists in Hong Kong took the lead with converted tries to Siaosi Asofolau and Greg Lealofi to seal the victory.
After an exciting 14-14 draw with Argentina first up, a repeat of the scoreline 12 months ago on home soil, Japan continued their good form by beating Samoa, a side they also beat in Port Elizabeth and last year, 26-12. Playing enterprising rugby, Lemeki starred with a brace and Chihito Matsui sealed the win.
RESULTS
POOL A |
POOL B |
POOL C |
POOL D |
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SATURDAY 4th APRIL 2015
1 |
10:00 |
FIJI |
19-10 |
WALES |
POOL A |
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2 |
10:22 |
ENGLAND |
33-0 | HONG KONG |
POOL A |
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3 |
10:44 |
NEW ZEALAND |
38-0 | SCOTLAND |
POOL B |
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4 |
11:06 |
AUSTRALIA |
10-12 | PORTUGAL |
POOL B |
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5 |
11:28 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
29-7 | CANADA |
POOL C |
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6 |
11:50 |
UNITED STATES |
5-27 | KENYA |
POOL C |
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7 |
12:12 |
SAMOA |
14-12 | FRANCE |
POOL D |
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8 |
12:34 |
ARGENTINA |
14-14 | JAPAN |
POOL D |
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9 |
13:18 |
FIJI |
35-14 | HONG KONG |
POOL A |
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10 |
13:40 |
ENGLAND |
10-7 | WALES |
POOL A |
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11 |
14:02 |
NEW ZEALAND |
26-7 | PORTUGAL |
POOL B |
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12 |
14:24 |
AUSTRALIA |
14-17 | SCOTLAND |
POOL B |
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13 |
14:46 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
26-0 | KENYA |
POOL C |
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14 |
15:08 |
UNITED STATES |
22-14 | CANADA |
POOL C |
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15 |
15:30 |
SAMOA |
12-26 | JAPAN |
POOL D |
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16 |
15:52 |
ARGENTINA |
7-17 | FRANCE |
POOL D |
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17 |
17:30 |
FIJI |
33-19 | ENGLAND |
POOL A |
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18 |
17:52 |
WALES |
31-5 |
HONG KONG |
POOL A |
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19 |
18:14 |
NEW ZEALAND |
14-19 |
AUSTRALIA |
POOL B |
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20 |
18:36 |
SCOTLAND |
17-12 |
PORTUGAL |
POOL B |
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21 |
18:58 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
24-15 |
UNITED STATES |
POOL C |
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22 |
19:20 |
CANADA |
26-10 |
KENYA |
POOL C |
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23 |
19:42 |
SAMOA |
26-26 |
ARGENTINA |
POOL D |
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24 |
20:04 |
FRANCE |
24-19 |
JAPAN |
POOL D |
SUNDAY 5th APRIL 2015
25 |
09:52 |
WALES |
14-7 |
ARGENTINA |
BOWL QF |
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26 |
10:14 |
KENYA |
5-14 |
AUSTRALIA |
BOWL QF |
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27 |
10:36 |
SAMOA |
21-0 |
HONG KONG |
BOWL QF |
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28 |
10:58 |
PORTUGAL |
0-39 |
UNITED STATES |
BOWL QF |
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29 |
11:20 |
FIJI |
41-5 |
JAPAN |
CUP QF |
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30 |
11:42 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
22-0 |
SCOTLAND |
CUP QF |
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31 |
12:04 |
FRANCE |
0-10 |
ENGLAND |
CUP QF |
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32 |
12:26 |
NEW ZEALAND |
15-9 |
CANADA |
CUP QF |
Shield Semi Final
Argentina 17 - 12 Kenya
Shield Semi Final
Hong Kong 17 - 19 Portugal
Bowl Semi Final
Wales 12 - 17 Australia
Bowl Semi Final
Samoa 5 -22 United States
Plate Semi Final
Japan 5 - 14 Scotland
Plate Semi Final
France 12 - 19 New Zealand
Cup Semi Final
Fiji 5 - 7 South Africa
Cup Semi Final
England 14 - 5 Canada
SHIELD FINAL
Argentina 7 - 12 PORTUGAL
BOWL FINAL
Australia 12 - 17 UNITED STATES
PLATE FINAL
Scotland 14 - 21 NEW ZEALAND
THIRD PLACE
FIJI 21 - 19 Canada
CUP FINAL
South Africa 14 - 21 ENGLAND
INTRO
JAPAN are 15 points behind Portugal but a strong performance at home would make things interesting heading into the final two rounds in Glasgow and London in May, with Fujita believing his side can make a piece of history at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground this weekend.
"I am very happy to be back in the Japan team and I am really looking forward to playing this weekend," said the 21-year-old.
"We are aiming to finish in the top eight here. This is something we have not been able to do yet but we believe we can and make that piece of history.”
Argentina, Samoa and France are their opponents and the Japanese will be buoyed by the fact they have tasted victory against all sides. Against Los Pumas Japan have won once and drawn once in 14 matches, while they have four victories in 17 against Les Bleus.
Perhaps most memorably, however, are the recent victories over Pacific giants Samoa - 17-14 in Port Elizabeth this season, and a record 42-12 on home soil last year.
"It is important to do well here not only for the series, but also Rugby World Cup 2019 and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo," explained Fujita, scorer of 16 tries on the World Series.
But while RWC 2015 is guaranteed for Japan, the Brave Blossoms will need to qualify for Rio 2016 through the Asian qualifier.
"Preparation for Rio is going well," added Fujita. "We know we can't qualify through the series but as long as we take the right steps, value the process, and continue our development we can get to Rio.
"We think we are getting stronger so we need to continue to do so and when the Asian qualifier comes around if we can keep up our strength and be conditioned then this will bring us the ticket to the Olympics."
South Africa captain Kyle Brown believes the HSBC Sevens World Series leaders are close to getting back to their best in the lead up to Tokyo, round seven of the series.
After two wins from the first three rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series, many believed South Africa was seemingly unstoppable and well on their way to winning the overall title for a second time.
But following three consecutive defeats in the Cup semi-finals, at the hands of eventual winners New Zealand in Wellington and Fiji in both Las Vegas and Hong Kong, you’d be forgiven for thinking the series frontrunners were starting to feel the pressure.
Not so, says inspirational captain Kyle Brown ahead of round seven of the series in Tokyo, with the Blitzboks still on top of the standings albeit by just two points.
“We were a bit off the pace in Wellington and Vegas but judging from last week’s performance I think we played some really good quality rugby.”
While they may not have held the Cup aloft since their home tournament in Port Elizabeth back in December, South Africa have finished third at each subsequent event ensuring they maintain their position at top of the series standings with 110 points.
“It’s something that we spoke about almost two years ago, something that has been a key success factor for teams that have won the series over the last couple of years, consistency,” added Brown.
“It’s always about being in the top four almost every tournament, winning a couple of tournaments along the way is always a bonus but making sure you are up there every single time and maximising points out of every event.”
Reflecting on back-to-back Cup semi-final losses to Fiji, Brown says knowing how Ben Ryan's side play is one thing, stopping them is quite another.
“We looked at a couple of game plans we could tweak to counter anything but in the end we gave them too much ball, made too many mistakes and that will be the end of your game.
“It’s all good us playing well in the second half but if you are going to give them 21 points in the first half it’s going to be a very tough day for you.”
TEAMS
THE final squads of 12 have been declared by all 16 coaches for the seventh round of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Tokyo.
Eight players are set to make their debut this weekend, five from Hong Kong and three from the 15 core teams - Carel du Preez of South Africa, Francisco Sousa, replacing Aderito Esteves, from Portugal, and Japan's Michiro Takai.
Kenya are the most experienced side with 303 events between their 12 players with Humphrey Kayange, Lavin Asego, who became the first Kenyan to score 1000 series points, and Collins Injera, who is six short of 200 career tries, all having played more than 50 tournaments each.
Hong Kong champions Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Samoa, Scotland, France and Kenya are the unchanged sides from last weekend. Elsewhere John Brake replaces Richard de Carpentier for England, Francisco Cuneo comes in for Los Pumas, Liam Middleton makes three changes for Canada, and Wales recall the experienced duo Jason Harries and Alex Webber.
Hosts Japan make four changes including a return for 21-year-old star Yoshikazu Fujita and Yusaku Kuwazuru who is set to make his 26th appearance.
SCHEDULE & STANDINGS
