This from the ARU for the Adelaide Sevens Tournament: Samoa has trounced the USA 38-10 in the Cup Final to win the International Rugby Sevens Adelaide on Sunday and record their second-straight tournament victory of the IRB Sevens World Series.
In what was an entertaining day sprinkled with upsets, traditional Sevens heavyweights New Zealand and South Africa were handed shock losses early on day three at Adelaide Oval while the US, Argentina, Australian and Samoa stayed in the heated race for tournament honours.
The US, appearing in their first-ever Cup Final, were defeated six tries to two in the final by the Samoans, whose emphatic victory cuts New Zealand’s lead at the top of the table to just six-championship points.
Samoan coach Steven Betham was delighted with his team’s victory and reserved special praise for the performance of Mikaele Pesamino, who bagged 11 tournament tries.
“We were trying to work our way to the top … there’s no substitute for speed in Sevens,” Betham said.
Showcasing the quality of the competition in the IRB Sevens and its exciting unpredictability, Series leaders, New Zealand and defending champions, South Africa, fought it out in the Plate final with New Zealand grabbing the spoils, 21-14.
Series contenders England and Kenya fought it out for the Bowl Final, with England coming out on top 33-12 while Japan defeated Tonga 22-19 in the Shield Final.
Over 29,000 fans attended the three-day event.
Highlights of the 2010 Adelaide Sevens Tournament: [irb]
Results:
- SF Shield: Tonga 45 – 0 PNG
- SF Shield: Niue 5 – 22 Japan
- SF Bowl: France 0 - 19 England
- SF Bowl: Kenya 36 – 12 Scotland
- SF Plate: New Zealand 24 – 21 Fiji
- SF Plate: Wales 0 – 29 South Africa
- SF Cup: Samoa 26 - 12 Australia
- SF Cup: USA 28 - 12 Argentina
- Shield Final: Tonga 19 - 22 Japan
- Bowl Final: England 33 – 12 Kenya
- Plate Final: New Zealand 21 - 14 South Africa
- Cup Final: Samoa 38 - 10 USA
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