Pumas rise, North American men fall on Cape Town Day One

Argentina were the only men’s team from the Americas to taste victory on Day One of the Cape Town Sevens. Los Pumas came away convincing winners over Canada in their Pool B opener, while the Men’s Eagles were well beaten by Fiji in Pool A.

A first-minute try from Franco Sábato was soon erased by Connor Braid, but Los Pumas went on the rampage with four unanswered scores to put the Canadians away. Sábato grabbed a second with singles for Germán Schulz, Fernando Luna, and Francisco Ulloa. Two consolation tries from replacement Theo Sauder helped pad Canada’s tally.

The Eagles simply couldn’t live with the hot-stepping Fijians. Aminiasi Tuimaba’s double before halftime left the USA with all the work to do. Stephen Tomasin gave them hope, but Vilimoni Botitu’s footwork was at it again with the playmaker followed quickly by Alasio Naduva. Perry Baker picked up a consolation marker with time expired.

Dubai champions South Africa look the class of the field again, scoring Japan by 49-nil in front of their home crowd. New Zealand were also in top form while Ireland, Kenya, and Scotland took upset wins over Australia, Samoa, and England respectively.

Day Two will see Argentina taking on Wales and New Zealand, with Canada facing the same opponents. The USA’s loss means that they need to beat Japan first and then the Blitzboks to sneak into the Cup Quarter Finals.

Live broadcasts are available on the CBC Sports website in Canada, NBC Sports Gold in the USA, and ESPN in South America.

 

 

DAY ONE RESULTS

POOL A
USA 14 – 28 Fiji
South Africa 49 – 0 Japan

POOL B
Argentina 33 – 21 Canada
New Zealand 43 – 7 Wales

POOL C
France 40 – 7 Spain
England 24 – 26 Scotland

POOL D
Australia 21 – 26 Ireland
Samoa 19 – 24 Kenya

 

DAY TWO AMERICAS FIXTURES

Sat, Dec 14 – 12:45 local / 05:45 Eastern – Pool B – Argentina vs Wales
Sat, Dec 14 – 13:07 local / 06:07 Eastern – Pool B – New Zealand vs Canada
Sat, Dec 14 – 13:29 local / 06:29 Eastern – Pool A – USA vs Japan

Sat, Dec 14 – 18:35 local / 11:35 Eastern – Pool B – Canada vs Wales
Sat, Dec 14 – 19:05 local / 12:05 Eastern – Pool C – New Zealand vs Argentina
Sat, Dec 14 – 20:03 local / 13:03 Eastern – Pool A – South Africa vs USA

FULL FIXTURES LIST HERE