Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens team finish Dubai in fifth
The Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens team has finished the Dubai Sevens tournament in the fifth position with victories over New Zealand and Scotland rounding out a solid day for Andy Friend’s young squad.
Australia fell in their Cup Quarter Final against Wales but made amends for that loss with a 20-12 victory over the All Blacks Sevens side and the in-form Scotland 19-12.
The Aussie 7s Men’s squad will now head to Cape Town for the second leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens Head Coach, Andy Friend: “We were really disappointed this morning with that performance to Wales. Credit to Wales they are a good aside and they played better than us and they took their chances.
“We said we wanted to finish fifth after that and worked hard to achieve it.
“It’s massive for us to beat New Zealand, it’s a good feeling and the performance we put out against Scotland was special for the team.”
Cup Quarter Final: Wales 21 defeated Australia 12
Wales were the first to strike in the Cup Quarter Final but it was Australia’s young play maker who registered the first points for the Aussie 7s levelling the scores at 7-7. Australia extended their lead when Simon Kennewell scored in the corner to take the score to 12-7 at half time.
Wales, sensing a strong opportunity in Australian side missing work horse Ed Jenkins who was injured took their opportunities in the second half and camped on Australia’s line. Two second half tries sealed the win for the Welsh who progressed to the Cup Semis Finals 12-21.
Fifth Place Semi Final: Australia 20 defeated New Zealand 12
Australia was camped in the New Zealanders half for the first moments of the match but it was New Zealand who was able to register the first points with a coast to coast try to create a 0-7 lead. A patient Australia defended well to regather possession and slowly work their way through the defence. A breaking run from Tim Anstee allowed Boyd Killingworth to score the Aussies’ first try to leave the score at 5-7 at half time.
Experienced New Zealand Sevens star DJ Forbes was sent to the sin-bin at the start of the second half for a dangerous tackle. The Australians didn’t take long to push home this advantage with Sam Myers strolling across the line to give the Aussie 7s the lead 10-7.
It was short lived with Tim Mikkelson scoring for the All Blacks 7s side to retake the lead 10-12. Like a thief in the night Henry Hutchison stole a try with a lucky bounce of the ball allowing the flier to run 45 metres untouched to give the Aussie 7s the lead with just over a minute remaining 15-12.
Hammering home the momentum swing in the match, Alex Gibbon scored to put the final nail in New Zealand’s coffin with the score at 20-12.
Fifth Place Final: Australia 19 defeated Scotland 12
Both sides were unable to establish a clear pattern of domination in the start of the first half, taking five minutes for the first points to be scored through Australian Captain Sam Myers.
Myers burned the covering the Scottish defence after a solid passage of play to take the score 5-0. A late converted try to the Scots gave them the lead heading into the break 5-7.
The second half saw the same struggle between the two teams as a defence was the order of the day on tired legs. Again, it as the Aussie7s who struck first with a try that allowed the men in gold to take the lead 12-7. Tim Anstee buried the Scots with a late try that allowed the Australians to finish the Dubai 7s in fifth place.
HSBC Sevens World Series, Dubai, Day 2 results:
Cup Quarter Final: Australia 12-21 Wales
5th Place Semi Final: Australia 20-12 New Zealand
5th Place Final: Australia 19-12 Scotland
HSBC Sevens World Series Standings: 1. South Africa (22 pts) 2. Fiji (19 pts) 3. England (17 pts) 4. Wales (15 pts) 5. Australia 13 (pts) 6. Scotland (12 pts) 7. France (10 pts) 8. New Zealand (10 pts)
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