Quarter-finals confirmed after thrilling opening day at Singapore Sevens

An exciting set of quarter-finals awaits following a thrilling day one at the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens in which Argentina, New Zealand and Samoa finished with perfect win records in front of a passionate crowd at the National Stadium.

For two of the past five Singapore champions, this tournament has been their maiden Series Cup title, with Canada winning in 2016 and Kenya in 2017.

And that trend could continue on Sunday with Great Britain and Uruguay still in contention for the main prize as neither has won gold at this level before.

Both face tough quarter-finals though, with Uruguay up against Samoa in the first of the four matches and Great Britain taking on New Zealand in the last.

Argentina play Australia and France face Fiji in the other Cup quarter-finals.

Series leaders New Zealand were the form team in Pool A, knocking off Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong China scoring 83 points and allowing only 19, while Australia – who failed to make it out of the pool stages at last weekend’s Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens – advanced to the final eight to continue their push towards qualification for Paris 2024.

Cape Town winners Samoa snapped a 15-game losing streak against reigning HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens champions Fiji and cruised through the pool stages undefeated against Canada and Spain to top Pool B. They will be joined by fellow islanders Fiji on Sunday in the top bracket.

In Pool C, Uruguayan veteran playmaker Guillermo Lijtenstein slotted three conversions and one last-second penalty to give the South Americans their first victory over USA dating back to 2006. Los Teros followed up that win with a 26-12 loss to HSBC Canada Sevens runners-up France before securing a place in Sunday’s quarter-finals with a 33-17 win over Kenya. Les Bleus continued their recent impressive form, finishing undefeated with two wins over Kenya and Uruguay and one draw against USA thank to book their place in Sunday’s final eight.

Uruguay star Baltazer Amaya, who scored in the victory over Kenya, said: “We talked before the game about what we wanted to do and we did it, so we are very happy with our performance today. We know that this tournament is really important for us because of the results from Hong Kong and that this weekend we have to put forward our best performance so that we can get to Toulouse and work towards the 11^th position. We are very happy.”

Pool D saw Hamilton and Vancouver winners Argentina opened their campaign with a 10-0 blanking of Ireland, before a 42-7 hammering of Japan and finished the day with a thrilling two-point come-from-behind win over Great Britain thanks to a sensational 50metre intercept try by World Rugby player of the year 2021 Marcos Moneta and a conversion from Gaston Revol.

Meanwhile, Japan, the overwhelming favourites to be relegated from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at the end of the season based on points, put the disappointment of an agonizing last-second two-point defeat to Great Britain behind them to chalk up a first-ever win (12-7) against Ireland with a try in stoppage time.

The 2023 Series continues to be the most competitive in history with the prize of Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualification on offer for the top four women’s and men’s teams in the standings. Hosts France men have pre-qualified for next year’s pinnacle event in the nation’s capital, while New Zealand, USA and Australia women have also secured their spot.

New Zealand, who have tasted victory three times this season in Sydney, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, lead the Series standings with 142 points and can become the first nation other than hosts France to officially qualify for Paris 2024 if they hoist the trophy aloft on Sunday.

Hamilton and Vancouver winners Argentina (121) sit second behind New Zealand and are closely trailed by Hong Kong runners-up Fiji with 113 points, Paris 2024 hosts France with 112 points and South Africa with 101 points.

The men’s Series has seen five different winners (Australia, Samoa, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand) through the opening eight tournaments.

The stakes couldn’t be higher at the bottom end of the men’s Series this season as well.

Following the penultimate event in Toulouse, the 15th ranked team will be relegated while the 12th through 14th ranked teams will face-off in London against the Sevens Challenger Series 2023 winner for the 12th and final position on the 2024 Series.

As it stands, Japan (11 points) hold the lowest ranking among core teams, while Canada (22), Kenya (30), Uruguay (39) and Spain (40) will be fervently trying to accumulate points over the next two tournaments.

– Press release/World Rugby