Kenya 7s fall to Fiji, Wales in Sydney
Aminiasi Tuimaba of Fiji (right) outpaces Kenya's Willy Ambaka to the try line during the Sydney Sevens rugby tournament at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney on February 1, 2020. PHOTO | SAM MOOY |
What you need to know:
- Fiji hit Kenya 28-14 in the opening match before the Welsh staged a stunning comeback to beat Shujaa 26-21
- The match against Wales was a see-saw when skipper Andrew Amonde went for the touchdown before Taabu converted to take the lad 7-0
- Fiji will wrap up against Wales at 5:19am with Kenya taking on All Blacks at 5:41am
Kenya Sevens fell to giants Fiji and Wales 28-14 and 26-21 respectively to blow away their chances of reaching the main Cup semi-finals at Sydney Sevens at Bankwest Stadium, Australia on Saturday.
The Kenyans were off the blocks swiftly when Collin Injera converted his own try to lead 7-0 against the Fijians.
However, the Fijians cancelled it with two tries from Aminiasi Tuimaba and Valimoni Botitu as Napolioni Bolaca added the extras to take a 14-7 lead at the break.
Josua Vukurunabili stretched the Fijians lead with a try as Tuimaba completed his double. Waisea Nacuqu was sure with his boot to firmly put Kenya at the back foot 28-7.
Johnstone Olindi's try that was converted by Daniel Taabu failed to rescue Paul Feeney's side in the opening Pool "A" duel.
The match against Wales was a see-saw when skipper Andrew Amonde went for the touchdown before Taabu converted to take the lad 7-0.
However, Will Thomas and Luke Treharne hit back with a try each for the former Sevens World champions. Luke Treharne made one conversion as the Welsh led 12-7 at the drinks.
Injera and Taabu would then land a try apiece to power Kenya to the 21-12 lead after Taabu and Olindi added the extras.
But some sloppy defending from the Kenyans would gift Wales two crucial tries with Will Jones and Ben Roach claiming credit. Treharne and James Benjamin nodded home the extras to hand Wales the slim victory.
Fiji would complete day one action unscathed when they stunned Cape Town and Hamilton Sevens champions New Zealand 26-5 to top Pool “A”. All Blacks Sevens had beaten Wales 54-5 earlier.
The last Pool matches will take place on Sunday morning.
NEW ZEALAND CLASH
Fiji will wrap up against Wales at 5:19am with Kenya taking on All Blacks at 5:41am.
Kenya went into Sydney placed 10th in the World Rugby Sevens Series with 25 points.
Dubai Sevens champions South Africa also topped Pool “B” unbeaten when they crushed Argentina 52-14 and France 24-12. France and Argentina had beaten Samoa 24-17 and 28-21 respectively.
The teams that will top the Pool will head straight to the Cup semi-finals with the rest playing classification matches.
United States and England ended day one with clean sheets to top their respective pools.
USA are perched atop Pool “C” after they downed Scotland 32-14 and Japan 45-7 respectively. Japan had earlier lost to Australia 33-7, who also stopped Scotland 31-14. USA and Australia have six points each but the Americans have a better aggregate.
England mauled Spain 47-0 before battling to beat Ireland 19-12. Canada beat Ireland 28-19 but fell to Spain 28-12. The Britons top with six points while Spain and Canada have four points each.
