Saturday 9 December 2017

World Rugby 7s - Cape Town 2017

Day 2:
Not a great start to Day 2 for Scotland as they suffer a rather one sided 24-7 defeat against Spain in the Trophy quarter final, despite Elms opening the scoring.

The loss to Spain meant the best finish Scotland could now look forward to was 13th, with an initial play-off match against Kenya.  However a try apiece for Farndale and McCann was just not enough to match the Kenyans who won the game 33-12.

It was a disappointing finish, which means Scotland gain only one ranking point for 15th place.

After the two rounds to date, Scotland have 11 ranking points which mean they sit in 13th place in the standings.

The Cape Town Cup was won by New Zealand, winning the final 38-14 against Argentina.

The next round of the tournament takes place in Sydney starting on 26 January, and Scotland are drawn against Canada, USA, and hosts Australia - all of whom are now higher than us in the rankings.


Day 1:
We're drawn in Pool C for the second event of the 7s series, this one in Cape Town, with England, Argentina and Uganda.

Looking to build on the success from last weeks outing in Dubai, Scotland face Argentina first up.  Argentina only managed one win on day one last week, so hopes will be high, but it's not a great start.


Argentina got off to a flying start getting themselves into a 12-0, but a try for Bryce brought it back to 12-7 just before half time.  A try for Farndale took Scotland into the lead, but they couldn't hold on and Argentina a third Argentina try means the game ends in their favour 19-14.

The game against Uganda was now a must win, and things get off to a good start with an opening try for Fergusson.  This was followed with tries for Cuthbert, McFarland & a second for Fergussion to give a half time score of 26-0.

A second half try for Lowe and a couple for Sam Pecqueur on his debut gives a comfortable final score of 45-0, setting up the crucial final pool game against England.

Englands 24-7 win over Argentina mean that Scotland sat in second in the Pool on the same points as Argentina, with one game to go, and with Argentina beating Uganda 43-7 in their final pool game, Scotland would have to beat England to qualify for the Cup competition.

A first half try for Bryce made victory over the English look a possibility at half time, but it was not to be, as England scored two of their own in the second half to give a final score of 14-7.

At the end of Day 1, Scotland finish 3rd, setting up a Challenge Quarter final against Spain.