Pic & Texts: World Rugby

World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Perry Baker (USA)

The oldest of the nominees at 32 and the 2017 recipient of this prestigious award, Perry Baker was at his scintillating best in Las Vegas in March, scoring eight tries – six of them in the knockout stages – as USA tasted success on home soil for the first time. The Eagles flyer has always had electric pace and the ability to create something out of nothing, but now has the all-round game to go with his natural speed to make him even more of a lethal finisher. The crowd favourite scored 37 tries in seven events on the 2018 series, missing the finale in Europe due to injury before returning to help USA to sixth place at RWC Sevens in San Francisco.

Week by week, Facebook, Twitterand Instagram are flooded with tons of content from the world of 7s. To stay on top of the game we are doing the hard work for you and gather the best bits of the week. Enjoy! 

Another amazing compilation by @usasevensrugby. This time the best try-savers

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be8JIjMgdBE/

The Jamaican 7s team wrote history this year, as they successfully qualified for the Commonwealth Games and the Sevens World Cup. A great achievement that has created loads of headlines. Well done!

The Rugby Sevens World Cup will be the outstanding 7s event this year and the promo machine is in full swing. Here is another nice teaser. Bring on San Fransisco 2018

Fiji Rugby is back at it's best and winning the New Zealand Sevens gave the Olympic Champs plenty of confidence. We want to see more like this

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSnqSyGgSjI/?taken-by=hsbcworld7s

Week by week, Facebook, Twitterand Instagram are flooded with tons of content from the world of 7s. To stay on top of the game we are doing the hard work for you and gather the best bits of the week. Enjoy! 

All eyes on the #USA7s. With a few weeks to go, the build-up is in full swing. Remember this classic?

Some of the nicest offloads from the #NZ7s in Hamilton

What a beauty by Scotland 7s.

One of the reasons for the success of the Australian Women's 7s team is their incredible work rate. Need a proof?

The Dubai Sevens 2018 are done and dusted. For New Zealand's Sevens sides it was the perfect weekend as both, the men's and women's, start the new season in a winning fashion. But there is much more we can take away from the last few days. Here are five things that stood out.

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Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

It may have been the lowest scoring final in HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series history, but Canada's 7-5 victory over England in the HSBC Kitakyushu Sevens final was a nail-biting encounter that was only settled with the final kick of the game at Mikuni World Stadium on Sunday.

Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

New Zealand, USA, Samoa and Argentina all progressed through to the Cup semi-finals of the HSBC USA Sevens after another enthralling day of action at the Sam Boyd Stadium. 

Text, Photos and Videos: World Rugby

Argentina beat New Zealand, Wales nearly topple SouthAfrica, and hosts USA go two from two on day one at the HSBC USA Sevens

The fifth leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 in Las Vegas opened in front of a buoyant crowd today. Fans enjoyed a bumper afternoon of the HSBC USA Sevens as all 16 teams ran out for two of their three Pool games at the Sam Boyd Stadium.

Highlights of the 2018 opener included a 26-19 win for fifth place Argentina over second place New Zealand in Pool D and a battle to the end between a young Wales side and top-of-the-table South Africa in Pool B where a 21-21 draw was toppled in the last minute by a try from Blitzbok’s Will Talbot-Davies for an eventual score of 26-21.

Hosts USA secured convincing wins over Samoa (26-12) and Australia (28-7) in Pool C. England, Argentina, Samoa, Fiji and South Africa also secured two from two at the close of business.

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USA Sevens | Results Day 1

USA Sevens | Fixtures Day 2

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USA, Fiji, Argentina and South Africa through to the Cup Semi-Finals of the HSBC USA Sevens

The Eagles, unbeaten so far in Las Vegas, followed with a 17-12 win over England in front of a packed and vibrant crowd.

In the third quarter-final, Argentina went head to head with Kenya, the Argentinians securing a 17-12 victory and a clean sheet on day one and two.

The final Cup quarter-final saw current series leaders South Africa overpower Australia with a 29-17 score line.

The fiercely contested Cup quarter-finals give fans a stellar semi-final line up tomorrow as Fiji face USA, and Argentina face South Africa whilst New Zealand, England, Kenya and Australia all compete for 5th place in Las Vegas.

Speaking of the day’s action and their place in the Cup semi-finals USA Captain Ben Pinkelman reflected on four wins from four and a home semi-final in Las Vegas. “We came into this tournament knowing we’ve made the semi-final three years in a row and it was all about taking that next step. So we're just going to come out, stick to our game-plan and hopefully, we will be able to make it all the way to that Cup.”

In the Challenge Trophy France, Scotland, Wales and Canada all progressed to Sunday’s semi-finals after wins over Uruguay, Russia, Samoa and Spain respectively.  France will face Wales in the first Trophy semi-final and Scotland will face Canada in the second. In the battle for 13th place, Uruguay will open proceedings against Samoa on Sunday at 1100, followed by Russia v Spain.

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USA Sevens | Results Day 2

USA Sevens | Fixtures Day 3

Text, Photos and Videos: World Rugby

Winning their second ever Cup final, the first in 2015 at the London Sevens, Mike Friday’s men thrilled the crowds and held opponents Argentina to a zero score line after another blockbuster day of rugby in Las Vegas.

USA, unbeaten in the weekend’s tournament, outplayed Fiji in the Cup semi-final 19-7 and faced stiff opposition in Argentina who also went into the game with a clean sheet and a well-worked 12-10 victory over South Africa. Eager to improve on last year’s Bronze finish in Vegas, USA secured a 28-0 victory with Perry Baker getting their first points on the board. Barrett’s first try followed and two successful conversions from Folau Niua gave the hosts a 14-0 halftime lead. Barrett added his second score straight out of the gates and after holding firm USA added a fourth and final try through Carlin Isles, Niua successfully kicking four from four to seal an emphatic victory at full time.

On a momentous day for USA Sevens, head coach Mike Friday said, “Credit to the men in the arena they were outstanding, they went out there and executed. They’ve executed all three days but especially today we had to change tactics for the Fiji semi we then had to readjust for the Final everyone delivered and that’s great to see. This is a total squad effort and I’m lucky to have such a great bunch of players and support staff.

“We want to show the sporting landscape in the USA what rugby can be and how that fits within the American landscape and this hopefully will touch and reach a lot of sports fans who realise they’ve got another national team that  they can be proud of and that they can support.”

HSBC Player of the Final, Barrett added, ”It's such a team effort, we've worked so hard for so long. Three straight years in a semi-final in Las Vegas and to come here, missing our captain and missing a number of players, it's just so amazing to win on home soil. A second Cup final ever for the USA and it feels great to be at home."

It was day full of breath-taking action as Fiji, champions in New Zealand, beat South Africa 26-22 in the Bronze Final, whilst France secured the Challenge Trophy with a 26-19 win over Canada.

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USA Sevens | Results Day 3

World Rugby Sevens Series | Standings

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Reigning HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series champions, New Zealand were the standout side on day one of the HSBC USA Women’s Sevens in Glendale, Colorado.

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Nicole Heavirland ran in two tries as USA defeated Australia 26-7 in the Cup final in Glendale to triumph on home soil for the first time on the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

(Pictures & Text via World Rugby)

Scotland defeated England in a scintillating HSBC London Sevens final on Sunday as South Africa were officially crowned series champions. 

Captain Scott Riddell scored the winner as they beat the auld enemy 12-5 to raise the trophy in London for the second year in a row. Callum McCrea's men earlier made history by becoming the first Scottish team to beat a New Zealand team in their history.

Speaking afterwards, the head coach said: "I’m very, very pleased with the effort from the boys. We’ve learned from a poor final against South Africa last week (in Paris). This week we dusted ourselves off and came back. It was a different mindset as holders."

Canada claimed bronze after beating USA 22-19, and the Challenge Trophy was won by Fiji, who beat Wales, 26-14. England finished second in the series standings with the Olympic Games Champions Fiji finishing third overall this season. 

Final

With one of the most sensational tries scored in a rugby sevens final this season, Dan Norton opened the scoring a physical, start to the match that saw Ollie Lyndsey Hague taken off early. His replacement, Richard De Carpentier was denied a follow-up effort as the two sides went at each other in an energy-sapping encounter, that saw the hosts lead 7-0 at half-time.

Hugh Blake evened it up after the break, capitalising on a loose ball but the winner came after a Joe Nayacavou offload went to HSBC Player of the final Mark Robertson whose pass put Scott Riddell over in the corner. England pressed in the closing minutes but the Scottish defence held firm.  

The winning captain said afterwards: “I’m absolutely elated. This sport is something that just grips you. It’s so special and I’m so proud of the boys. I’m lost for words. We were under the pump and we just keep fighting and we took our chances. You couldn’t write a script like that.”

Semi-finals

The Bagpipes were in full cry as Scotland ran out to play in their second semi-final in as many weeks. This time the opposition was Perry Baker and his USA colleagues and an entertaining spectacle was in store. A tense first half saw a try-saving tackle from Mark Robertson on Ben Pinkleman release the ball for last year’s final hero, Dougie Fife, to break clear and score under the posts. But wonder winger Baker responded as he broke away, side-stepped a defender and went under the posts to leave it 7-7 at half time.

USA thought they had hit back in the second half as Folau Niua crossed the line in the corner, but the TMO replay showed that he knocked on. Scotland seized on the momentum and Glenn Bryce, who was at the forefront of the Scottish attack all weekend, touched down in the corner. The Scots lead lasted less than two minutes until Baker made it look so easy as he jogged in under the posts.

At 14-14, the game was most certainly on. The Scots, well used to winning at the death, had to do it again and Nayacavou stepped up to crash in underneath the posts and send the crowd into raptures.

England and Canada followed that and the hosts were clearly up for the challenge, with dream-teamer Ollie Lyndsey-Hague executing a beautiful goose-step to score under the sticks early on. But the men in red were up for the challenge and hard work from Justin Douglas paid off as Adam Zaruba equalised. But back came England with Lyndsey-Hague again scoring after nice play by Norton, making it 14-5 at the break. The second half was close until Norton, sensational all weekend, evaded a Douglas challenge to dot down in the corner and Lyndsey-Hague’s hat-trick in the same corner guaranteed the win, 24-5; the auld enemy set to clash in the final.

Quarter-final

He makes it look so easy. The first quarter-final of the day was barely two minutes old when the tournament and series top try scorer Perry Baker got the ball in his hands, and with a few yards of space, he executed brilliantly as he’s done so many times in a USA jersey. Minutes later, Maka Unufe got the ball in space and scored out wide before he made a classy break to dot down under the posts. Australia’s Alex Gibbon touched down before the break to leave it 19-7 at half time.

After the pause, Baker added to his tally before completing his hat-trick in style. A try from Simon Kennewell was merely a consolation and USA marched on to the semis in style, 31-14.

Scotland took on a New Zealand side that were unbeaten on day one and were chasing shadows for Sam Dickson’s opening try, as they struggled in the London summer sun. Fa’asiu Fuatai made their task more difficult before Andrew Knewstubb crashed over to make it 21-0 to the All Black Sevens at the break.

A different Scotland side ran out for the second half, with Dougie Fife scoring two tries to start the fightback. With 40 seconds to go, a try from Jamie Farndale put the Scots within four before an issue over player numbers on the pitch gave Scotland a penalty. Roared on by the London crowd, the Scots kept their composure and went through the phases to put Farndale over for his second and celebrations ensued on the side-line, as Scotland beat New Zealand for the first time in rugby history.

After such an exciting match, England Rugby HQs was buzzing as the home side took the field against South Africa, and fans were soon on their feet again as Dan Norton broke away for yet another try at Twickenham. A tight encounter saw the Blitzboks' Chris Dry cross to make it one try apiece at the break. Werner Kok silenced the Twickenham faithful after the resumption of play with a well-worked try, but went from hero to villain minutes later as he was sin-binned for a neck roll and James Rodwell levelled after good phase-play from the resulting penalty.

It came down to the last play – just to add to the excitement of the day – and who else but Norton? The TMO was asked to verify but there was no doubt that Norton added to his total and England were through at the expense of the series champions.

The last quarter-final was more straight forward as an impressive Canadian side took on Argentina. The Singapore champions took the game to the South Americans and two tries from Nathan Hiryama and one from Mike Fuailefau and Justin Douglas put the game beyond reach. A try from Julian Dominguez was not enough and Canada went through to a semi-final with the hosts.

(Picture & Text: World Rugby)

Canada won their first ever HSBC World Rugby Sevens series tournament after beating USA 26-19 in a heart-stopping final in Singapore.

The Canadians raced ahead into a 19-0 lead but USA scored twice through Perry Baker in a thrilling finale. A try in the dying moments from Lucas Hammond sealed the win for Damian McGrath's side. 

Shocks and upsets were the order of the day as Fiji, South Africa and New Zealand all crashed out on at the quarter-final stages of the tournament on Sunday.

Elsewhere England won the bronze medal match at the National Stadium after beating Australia 14-12 while Wales beat Scotland 24-12 to win the Challenge Trophy.

Speaking after the historic match, HSBC Player of the Final Nathan Hirayama said: "It's an unbelievable feeling. A lot of us have been on the scene a long time and we came through some dark times, but to come away with that win was special."

Coach Damian McGrath, who coached Samoa to a shock win at the HSBC Paris Sevens last year, added: "It's incredible. Last night (on day one) we were beaten by Fiji so we had a little bit of soul searching and then we came back and beat some of the best teams in the world. This will show that Canadian rugby has so much to offer." 

USA ran out in a tournament final for the first time since they won the HSBC London Sevens in 2015 and while Canada played in the Glasgow Sevens final in 2014 they hadn't featured in one since and never claimed a series tournament win.

The game kicked off with a quick try from Canada's Matt Mullins and while the USA was processing that, the Canadians struck again through Harry Jones to make it 12-0. USA pushed up the field but a break saw Mike Fuailefau touchdown after a kick ahead, and the Canadians were suddenly 19-0 ahead. Safe to say, USA were not expecting that.

But it wasn't long before speedster Perry Baker turned on the after-burners and one try followed by another from Stephen Tomasin made it 19-12 at half time; game on.

And then it looked like Canada would be waiting another lifetime for a precious tournament win. After the resumption of play, Baker, in imperious form all weekend, flashed down the win for yet another try to leave the USA fans at the National Stadium in full voice as the match was levelled, 19-19.

The match went back and forth until Lucas Hammond seized on an opening in the American defence to score and the Canadians hung on to claim the top prize on the night.  

Captain John Moonlight said afterwards: “It’s hard to put that into words. We took a licking against Fiji yesterday, and from our coach. But we showed up today, we showed the world we can beat anyone. We beat three of the best teams today. We are flying. An unbelievable feeling.”

The action now moves to Paris for the penultimate round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series on May 13 and 14 at Stadium Jean Bouin. Click here to find out where you can watch the action.

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Singapore Sevens | Results

HSBC Sevens World Series | Standings

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The fifth tournament on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019 commenced in style as an excited crowd enjoyed a busy first day at the Sam Boyd Stadium and one that produced a few surprises along the way. 

Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

USA retained their title in Las Vegas with a 27-0 victory over Samoa in the Cup final and become the outright leaders on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019.

Pic: World Rugby

On day one of the USA Sevens, Fiji was one of six unbeaten teams. The islanders are staying on track to win a third consecutive tournament in Las Vegas. Fiji however, is still in search for the first tournament win this season, but two convincing victories over Japan and Scotland in Pool D made clear that Gareth Baber's side is in strong form. 

Beside Fiji, hosts USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England all recorded two wins from two as well. 

Series leaders South Africa traveled with the confidence of two back-to-back tournament wins to the USA and showed strong performances including a 26-7 win over Canada and a 24-0 win over France. The French started off strongly with a 33-7 win over Wales, who were later beaten by Damian McGrath's Canada side when Mike Fuailefau scored a late try to the delight of the large pockets of Canadian fans in the stands. 

Hosts USA demonstrated once again their ambitions to win the first title on home soil with a 26-5 win over Samoa and a 31-0 victory against South American side Chile. New Zealand dominated Pool C with wins against Kenya and Russia. Argentina, started their campaign strongly beating Russia 43-0 but just drew against Kenya in their final day one match. 

Australia also had a strong opening tournament day with a 28-21 win over Scotland and a 19-12 success against Japan in Pool D setting up the pool decider against Fiji on day two.

HSBC Women's Sevens Series

While the men's still have an outstanding round of pool matches ahead, the women's will head into the quarterfinals on the second day of the USA Sevens. Canada and New Zealand go into the Cup quarter-finals unbeaten after some imposing performances. England failed to progress from the pool stage once again and will now play for the Challenge trophy. 

Current series champions Australia also qualified for the Cup quarter-finals despite losing to New Zealand. Fiji lost to the hosts USA in their final pool match but managed to beat Spain and Ireland earlier. With the two wins, Fiji booked a quarter-final encounter against Australia, while Ireland will face USA on the final day. 

USA Sevens Women's | Cup Quarter-Finals

CANADA v FRANCE

FIJI v AUSTRALIA

USA v IRELAND

NEW ZEALAND v RUSSIA

Quick Links

USA Sevens Men's | Results and Fixtures

USA Sevens Women's | Results and Fixtures 

Pic: World Rugby

Is this the year for USA? The hosts are on course to secure their first ever tournament win in Las Vegas after beating Argentina 21-19 in the Cup quarter-finals of the HSBC USA Sevens in Las Vegas. 

However, USA will face a tough task as they go head-to-head with series leaders South Africa in the semi-final. On the other side of the draw Fiji will play New Zealand.

South Africa had to produce a big performance against Australia to get another semi-final spot. A late try from speedster Rosko Specman proved crucial as the Blitzboks won 17-14 against Australia.

Back-to-back series champions Fiji faced Canada in their quarter-final and delivered a convincing five-try performance to win 31-12 against head coach Damian McGrath's side.

Meanwhile, New Zealand outclassed an England side that only recently made the final at the HSBC Sydney Sevens, winning 19-0.

The Challenge Trophy semi-finals will feature France v Kenya and Scotland v Samoa. 

Pic: World Rugby

At the women’s tournament of the USA Sevens, which came to an end on Saturday, New Zealand won the final 28-5 against Gold medallists Australia with a brilliant performance. New Zealand took the lead in the table after three tournaments finishing a perfect weekend.

In the bronze final, Canada won the battle of North America, beating USA 31-7 much to the disappointment of around 30,000 home fans packed into Sam Boyd Stadium.

In the Challenge Trophy, Spain beat England 10-0 in the final.

Half-way through the series, the teams will meet again on 22^nd of April in Kitakyushu, Japan.

Quick Links

USA Sevens Women's | Results

USA Sevens Men's | Fixtures

South Africa took a huge step towards their second series win after beating Fiji 19-12 in the final of the USA Sevens yesterday.

The Blitzboks have now a comfortable 24-point buffer at the top of the standings, with Fiji in second and England in third following their fifth place finish in Vegas. 

In an intense final, Olympic champions Fiji tried everything to win their first title this season. Masivesi Dakuwaqa scored early on in the match, but South Africa’s playmaker Cecil Afrika replied with try just moments after. Forward Chris Dry added another try early on in the second half, before HSBC Player of the Final Rosko Specman scored an incredible individual try to win the game. Waisea Nacuqu got Fiji back into the game, but it was just too little too late. 

With victories in Dubai, Sydney, Wellington and now Las Vegas, the Blitzboks have had their best start ever to a world series. 

"We're happy with how it's been going the last few tournaments and the guys are believing in a system and working for each other," he said. "They are showing a lot of pride in the jersey and the fact that they can play for their country. They showed a lot of composure in the final and managed to take control back in the second half."

Hosts USA finished in a strong third position after beating New Zealand 19-15 in the Bronze final, while Kenya took victory in the Challenge Trophy final, beating Samoa 21-14.

The teams have now just a few days to recover before the next stage of the HSBC Sevens Series in Vancouver kicks-off.   

Quick Links

USA Sevens | Results

Canada Sevens | Fixtures

Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

Pic: Mike Lee - KLC fotos

The curtain came down on a record-breaking HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series 2019 with a piece of history as USA ran out 26-10 winners over New Zealand in the HSBC France Women's Sevens final to win their first-ever Cup title.

Text, Picture and Video: World Rugby

Australia, Canada and New Zealand finished top of their pools as the HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series 2019 kicked off at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado, on Saturday.

Defending series champions Australia had to recover from 15-0 down at half-time in their Pool A decider with Russia to make it three wins from three at the HSBC USA Women's Sevens and set up a Cup quarter-final with the hosts who finished third in Pool B.