There were thrilling rugby and sensational tries as Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 began at Cape Town Stadium on Friday with 24 men's teams in action on a pulsating first day of play.
Fans in the stadium and watching around the world were kept on the edge of their seats by the unique ‘winner takes all’ knock-out competition format which means every match counts.
Reigning champions New Zealand enjoyed a successful start to the defence of their crown with a resounding 43-5 victory over Scotland in the men’s competition.
Australia arrived in Cape Town in a confident mood having recently claimed the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 titles. They overcame Uruguay by a 35-00 scoreline.
Hosts South Africa are top seeds in the men’s competition and produced some scintillating rugby sevens to beat Chile 32-05 to bring joy to the large and exuberant crowd in the last match of the day.
Men’s double Olympic champions Fiji were too strong for Wales, winning 29-05 in the 24-team men’s competition.
The quarter-finals are New Zealand vs Argentina, France vs Australia, Samoa vs Fiji and Ireland vs South Africa.
England 07-15 Ireland
After five minutes of an action-packed first half, it was Ireland, to the delight of the crowd, who scored the first try of the match and first half. Ireland led 07-00 at the halftime break. Ireland scored two early tries in the second half and led 17-00 with just three minutes to go. England attacked for the remainder of the match but could only score one try. Ireland is the deserved winner while England is the first "ranked" team to lose, ending their World Cup dreams.
France 19-12 Canada
Canada enjoyed a territorial advantage during the opening minutes of the match and much to the surprise of the punters opened the scoring against France to lead 05-00 with three minutes to go. France replied a minute later with a try of their own to level the score at 05-05, which was also the halftime score. France scored their second try from a turnover after just a minute of play in the second half to lead 12-05. After the third try of the match by France Canada replied almost immediately with a try of their own to reduce France's lead to just seven points. Unfortunately for Canada, they ran out of time as France won 19-12 after an exciting match.
USA 40-12 Samoa
An error in the defence by the USA led to a long-distance try by Samoa to take an early 07-00 lead. The USA replied with only a few seconds to go in the first half with a try of their own, however, Samoa had the last say with an almost immediate reply to lead 14-05 at the halftime break. The USA scored their third try after just two minutes in the second half to reduce Samoa's lead to just two points. Half-hearted defence by the USA gave a try to Samoa on a platter to increase their lead to 21-12 with three minutes to go. Samoa put the after-burners on to score three unanswered tries to win 40-12.
New Zealand 43-05 Scotland
New Zealand opened the scoring after just 30 seconds of play in the first half. A second try followed after New Zealand showed some brilliant skills in creating space with slick and precise passing. New Zealand increased their lead to 24-00 at the halftime break. Scotland opened their account as well as the scoring in the second half with a great worked try. Unfortunately for Scotland that was their first and last points as the All Blacks ran in three more tries to win 43-05.
Argentina 22-07 Kenya
Argentina opened the scoring after just two minutes of play and added two more tries to lead 15-00 at the halftime break. Kenya opened the scoring in the second half with a long-distance try that started in their red zone. Argentina won 22-07 in a match that they "controlled" with relative ease, playing a conservative and controlled game.
Australia 35-05 Uruguay
The first four minutes of the match were a ding-dong battle. Australia scored the first try with two minutes to go in the first half. A yellow card against Uruguay opened gaps for Australia to run at, which they did to end the first half with a simple try. Australia led 14-00 at the halftime break. Australia scored three unanswered tries in the second half to win 35-05 against a more than willing Uruguay
Fiji 29-05 Wales
Wales opened the scoring after just a minute of play in the first half, after which Fiji struck back immediately from the kick-off to level the scores. Fidji scored their second and third try using their bulk to break several tackles. Fidji led 17-05 at the halftime break. Two tries in the second half gave Fidji a deserving 29-05 win.
Blitzboks 32-05 Chile
The Blitzboks scored three tries in quick succession to open up a 17-00 lead. All three tries were the result of brilliant cross kicks that was controlled by the home team. Chile scored a try with seconds to go to narrow the Blitzboks' lead to 17-05 at the halftime break. The Blitzboks added three tries in the second half to start their campaign off with a 32-05 win.
