Jarryd Hayne's first outing in his latest code ended in defeat as England stunned 7s Series leaders Fiji with a 31-10 victory on the opening day of the London 7s.
Former rugby league star Hayne recently quit the NFL's San Francisco 49ers for a tilt at the Rio Olympics with the Fijian 7s side.
However, his inclusion in the reigning World 7s Series champions' line-up was not enough to prevent defeat by hosts England, who ran riot in front of a disappointingly-sparse Twickenham crowd.
Pool A
Reigning London 7s champions USA kicked off their title defence with a 12-5 victory over last week's winners in Paris, Samoa.
Skipper Madison Hughes opened the scoring for the Eagles with his 21st try of the 7s season, with Perry Baker adding a second touchdown. Belgium Tuatagaloa crossed for the Pacific Islanders.
South Africa gave Canada the first real beating of the Twickenham weekend, putting 22 points past them before John Moonlight's consolation try.
The Blitzbokke's hat trick of tries came from two names with pedigree in the XV-a-side game, as Francois Hougaard and Ryan Kankowski touched down in an easy win.
Pool B
England could not have wished for a better start to their Twickenham weekend, thrashing World 7s Series leaders Fiji 31-10 in front of a home crowd.
With Jarryd Hayne starting from the bench, all eyes were on Fiji's host of world class 7s talent, but it was England's battlers who ran in five tries for a well-deserved victory.
Australia made light work of Wales in their Pool B opener -- a pool that has an eery resemblance to the Rugby World Cup's treacherous Pool A.
The Aussies ran in four tries on their way to a 22-10 victory and at one stage were 17 points out in front before Owen Jenkins touched down for the second of his two consolation tries.
Pool C
Kenya got their London 7s campaign rolling with a try-heavy 22-17 victory over Portugal.
Kenya's tries came courtesy of Collins Injera, Frank Wanyama and an Oscar Ayodi double. Portugal ran the African nation close with three tries of their own -- via Vasco Fragoso Mendes and a Pedro Leal brace -- but Wanyama's late try was enough to claim the win for Kenya.
Scotland and France played out a 14-14 draw in the opening match of Saturday's Twickenham action, scoring two tries apiece in a tight encounter.
Pool D
Argentina kicked off their Pool D campaign with a touchy 22-12 win against Russia.
The South Americans crossed for four tries in a feisty encounter, touching down via Fernando Luna, Matías Moroni, Santiago Cordero, and Santiago Cordero.
Russia's scores came Denis Simplikevich and German Daydov, but their frequent attempts to square up to their Argentine opponents showed they're not at Twickenham to be pushed around.
Sonny Bill Williams was the star attraction as New Zealand ran out easy 31-0 winners against Brazil.
The World Cup-winner in the XV-a-side game was a brutal force in the All Black 7s line-up, regularly receiving the ball out wide to make battering-ram runs against the porous Brazilian defence.
The All Blacks touched down for five tries in all, Tim Mikkelson and Rieko Ioane scoring a brace each and Pita Ahki chipping in with a touchdown of his own.
London 7s: England spoil Hayne party
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire