Ireland off to great starts but the hosts slip up: Day 1 at the Rugby World Cup Sevens

THE RUGBY WORLD Cup Sevens is being held in Cape Town this weekend, where a combined total of 40 teams are taking part in the men’s and women’s competitions.

Thanks to TritonLake – the proud title sponsor of the Ireland Sevens teams – The42 will be keeping you up-to-date with a round-up of the action each day.

Here’s what happened on Friday…

jordan-conroy-celebrates-after-the-game Jordan Conroy (centre) and the Ireland players celebrating their win over England. Travis Prior / INPHO Travis Prior / INPHO / INPHO

Today’s Results

Men’s Tournament - Pre-Round of 16

Ireland 24 Portugal 0
Canada 31 Zimbabwe 7
Samoa 33 Uganda 7
Scotland 24 Jamaica 7
Kenya 19 Tonga 0
Wales 33 Korea 10
Uruguay 19 Hong Kong 7
Chile 15 Germany 12

Round of 16

Ireland 17 England 5
France 19 Canada 12
Samoa 40 USA 12
New Zealand 43 Scotland 5
Argentina 22 Kenya 7
Australia 35 Uruguay 0
Fiji 29 Wales 5
South Africa 32 Chile 5

Women’s Tournament - Round of 16

Australia 48 Madagascar 0
USA 39 Poland 7
Canada 24 China 5
Fiji 36 Japan 7
Ireland 24 Brazil 12
England 29 Spain 5
New Zealand 47 Colombia 5
France 29 South Africa 0

The Big Story

They had a long wait to see their sides in action and there were mixed emotions for South African supporters as they departed Cape Town Stadium this evening.

While the men’s side (gold medal winners at last month’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham) comfortably accounted for Chile in the last of 24 games on day one of the Sevens World Cup, it was immediately preceded by a comprehensive defeat for their female counterparts to France.

Following tries from Lou Noel, Camille Grassineau, Chloe Pelle (two) and Seraphine Okemba, the French eased towards a 29-0 triumph in a Round of 16 affair. This result wasn’t wholly surprising given South Africa are still developing their women’s sevens programme, but the expectation levels are different for their male counterparts.

Their recent Commonwealth success has provided them with the belief that they could become the first host nation to win a Sevens World Cup and the Blitzboks were highly efficient in their Round of 16 win against Chile on a final scoreline of 32-5.

A Championship success may be out of reach for their women’s team, but tries from Angelo Davids (two), Sakoyisa Makata, Christie Grobbelaar, Joaquin Huici and Mfundo Ndhlovu leaves South Africa firmly in the hunt for the main prize in the men’s tournament.

How did Ireland do?

amee-leigh-murphy-crowe Ireland's Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe. Travis Prior / INPHO Travis Prior / INPHO / INPHO

Entering the latest edition of the World Cup with lofty ambitions, the Ireland men’s and women’s teams remain in contention for top honours heading into tomorrow’s fare.

Thanks to tries from Terry Kennedy, Hugo Lennox, Sean Cribbin and Bryan Mollen, James Topping’s Irish men kick-started their campaign (and the tournament itself) with a convincing 24-0 triumph over Portugal in a Pre-Round of 16 encounter.

It was a much tighter affair against cross-channel rivals England later in the afternoon, but five-pointers courtesy of Harry McNulty, Mark Roche and Jordan Conroy propelled Ireland towards a 17-5 success.

Although converted tries from Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Lucy Mulhall had put the Irish women in the driving seat during in their own Round of 16 game with Brazil, the South Americans struck back through Bianca Silva and Mariana Nicolau to reduce the gap to two points (14-12) at the break.

However, Beibhinn Parsons touched down in majestic fashion on the restart before Murphy Crowe’s second try sealed a 24-12 win. Whereas their male counterparts will take on host nation South Africa in a mouthwatering quarter-final tomorrow night, the Ireland women are set to lock horns with defending champions New Zealand at the same stage of their tournament.

Try of the Day

He may have ended up on the losing side, but Vincent Onyala produced a moment of magic for Kenya in their Championship quarter-final clash against Argentina.

Picking up possession close to his own try-line – and with his back to the opposition posts – Onyala pirouetted away from an attempted challenge by Luciano Gonzalez before running the length of the field for a superb individual score.

Leaving the Argentina defence in a spin 🔄

What a piece of footwork from Kenya's @OnyalaVincent!#RWC7s | #HereToSevens | @KenyaSevens pic.twitter.com/q6zhtDJ8zM
— Rugby World Cup 7s 2022 (@WorldRugby7s) September 9, 2022

Stand-out Player

com22-rugby-sevens Australia's Faith Nathan. AAP / PA Images AAP / PA Images / PA Images

While there were a plethora of impressive performers across both tournaments on Friday, it was the attacking prowess of Australian women’s speedster Faith Nathan that really caught the eye. Of the eight tries her side scored in a 48-0 victory over Madagascar in the Round of 16, the 22-year-old crossed the whitewash for five of them.

Having recorded a brace of five-pointers to propel the southern hemisphere nation towards a 26-0 interval cushion, she added three more tries in the second half to underline the credentials of a team that finished top of the pile in this season’s World Series.

Tomorrow’s Fixtures

Men’s Tournament (kick-off Irish time)

Championship Quarter-Finals

Match 28: New Zealand v Argentina (6.35pm)
Match 26: France v Australia (7.35pm)
Match 27: Samoa v Fiji (8.35pm)
Match 25: South Africa V Ireland (9.33pm)

Challenge Quarter-Finals

Match 21: England V Chile (10.31am)
Match 22: Canada V Uruguay (10.53am)
Match 23: USA V Wales (11.15am)
Match 24: Scotland V Kenya (11.37am)

Challenge 13/16 Place Semi-Finals

Match 33: Loser Match 21 v Loser Match 24 (3.53pm)
Match 34: Loser Match 22 v Loser Match 23 (4.15pm)

Challenge Semi-Finals

Match 35: Winner Match 22 v Winner Match 23 (4.37pm)
Match 36: Winner Match 21 v Winner Match 24 (4.59pm)

Bowl Quarter-Finals

Match 17: Portugal v Germany (7.15am)
Match 18: Zimbabwe v Hong Kong (7.37am)
Match 19: Uganda v Korea (7.59am)
Match 20: Jamaica v Tonga (8.21am)

Bowl 21/24 Place Semi-Finals

Loser Match 17 v Loser Match 20 (12.17pm)
Loser Match 17 v Loser Match 20 (12.39pm)

Bowl Semi-Finals

Winner Match 17 v Winner Match 20 (1.01pm)
Winner Match 18 v Winner Match 19 (1.23pm)

Women’s Tournament (kick-off Irish time)