Australia outclassed by experience in Wellington Sevens

Jan 30 • General News, International • 973 Views • Comments Off on Australia outclassed by experience in Wellington Sevens

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The young Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens team have fallen to Sevens powerhouses Fiji and South Africa on Day One of the Wellington Sevens but finished the day on a winning note with a victory over Japan.

An injury to Boyd Killingworth added to the Aussie7s injury woes with Club Captain Lewis Holland, Ed Jenkins and Jesse Parahi all unavailable for selection due to injury.

Australia will play in the Challenge Cup Quarter Finals against the fourth-placed finishers in Pool C on Sunday with kick off at 10.06am AEDT.

Qantas Australian Men’s Head Coach Andy Friend: “I thought Fiji was the big game we wanted to target. Going up 12-5 at halftime, we had the chance to really take the opportunities to win the match. They took their chances like we knew they would and they overpowered us in the end which was disappointing.

“I am seeing massive potential in our youngsters but it takes time. Sevens takes the time to learn the game and to become familiar with the pressure of the game under massive fatigue.

“Our aim is to win three games tomorrow, we’ll have our work cut out to try and win those games but that’s our target.
“We’d like to go into Sydney as highly ranked as we can.”

Australia 12 were defeated by Fiji 26
A perfect start from Australia with a great turnover from skipper Sam Myers allowed the men in gold to strike first, with Henry Hutchison spotting a gap and slicing through the Fijian defence to take the score to 7-0. The flying Fijians were made to work hard for their first points with a brilliant offload allowing the Olympic Gold medallists to level the score 7-5. Australia continued to apply pressure to Fiji with Alex Gibbon scoring on the cusp of half-time taking the scoreboard to 12-5.

Fiji was the first to strike in the second half, scoring two tries in quick succession to take the lead for the first time in the match with the score at 12-19. A final try to Fiji sealed the valiant Aussie7s fate, winning 12-26.

Australia 0 were defeated by South Africa 28
The second match for Australia at the Wellington Sevens started with some solid defence from the Aussies, with James Stannard playing a tactical kicking game to play in South Africa’s half. The first points of the match went to the Blitzbokkes however, with South Africa kicking in behind the defence to take the score to 0-7. A late surge by Australia was held out leaving the score at 0-7 at the break. An injury to Boyd Killingworth took the Warringah Rat from the match and left Australia a man down for the remainder of the tournament.

South Africa’s second try of the match came off the back of sustained pressure in Australia’s half. The Aussie7s couldn’t contain the experience of South Africa taking the score to 0-14. Two late tries to South Africa showed the class of the Blitzbokke with the final score to 0-28.

Australia 33 defeated Japan 12
Searching for their first win after two tough matches, Australia started well against Japan with Henry Hutchison continuing his good form with a try in the opening two minutes to take the score to 5-0. Two quick tries to James Stannard and tournament Captain, Sam Myers put a healthy gap on the scoreboard for the Aussie7s with the score moving to 19-0. As the half time siren sounded, Australia continued to mount pressure on Japan with Sam Myers going over for his second try of the day to take the score 26-0.

Japan’s defence improved in the second half, slowing down Australia’s attack until schoolboy sensation, Tate McDermott scored underneath the posts with the youngster darting through several Japanese tackles to register his first points for the Aussie7s. A late try to Japan restored some respectability, but Australia proved too strong winning the match 33-12.

Australia will play the loser of France v Samoa tomorrow morning at 10.06am AEDT.

HSBC Sevens World Series, Wellington, Day 1 results:
Australia 12-26 Fiji
Australia 0-28 South Africa
Australia 33-12 Japan

Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens