Fiji’s Viwa Naduvalo extended his lead at the top of the men’s try-scoring list on the opening day of the HSBC SVNS in Vancouver, taking his tally to 31 for the season, and sailing past 100 in just his 29th tournament.
The Pacific Islanders laid on the style as they made sure of their place in the semi-finals for the fifth tournament in a row with two wins from three in Pool B.
Australia had earlier snapped back-to-back-to-back-to-back champions Argentina’s 23-match winning run at the tournament with a thrilling, hard-fought win in the opening match of the day to get the tournament off to a blockbuster start.
Pool A, meanwhile, went down to the wire, with the final slot only decided in the final match of the day.
POOL A: Late heartbreak for New Zealand as South Africa enjoy perfect day
Cape Town and Perth champions South Africa marched into day two in Vancouver with three wins from three, opening their account with a comfortable 21-5 win over Great Britain, who had two players yellow carded.
Sebastiaan Jobb’s 80m solo try was the highlight of the Blitzboks’ second impressive 28-7 win over Spain. Ronald Brown, Shilton van Wyk, and Tristan Leyds added touchdowns of their own.
Spanish legend Pol Pla returned to the squad for the first time since Dubai — and guided them back from 10 points down at halftime to beat New Zealand 12-10.
But Roderick Solo scored one and made another on his first start in his return tournament following two years out with injury as New Zealand recovered from their opening match defeat with a comfortable 29-5 win over Great Britain, despite losing Tone Ng Shiu to a second-half red card for a dangerous tackle.
Spain gave themselves a chance of reaching a first semi-final appearance this season with a 10-0 win over Great Britain, courtesy of a double from Jeremy Trevithick. Their hopes rested on the result of South Africa’s match against New Zealand.
Last year’s surprise HSBC SVNS package needed the Blitzboks to beat the All Blacks Sevens in the final match of the day. South Africa were 17-0 up at the end of an 11-minute first half — but had to weather a New Zealand fightback to finish 17-12 winners.
POOL B: Argentina’s long Vancouver reign over as Australia and Fiji march on
Fiji, the only side in the men’s competition to finish on the podium at every tournament on the HSBC SVNS Series this season, ensured another semi-final appearance with two wins from three on day one at BC Place.
But, having had their unbeaten run in Vancouver halted after four years and 23 matches, defending champions Argentina were dumped out of the title race, after winning just one of their matches.
The HSBC SVNS in Vancouver got off to a blockbuster start, as Australia snapped the 23-game Vancouver winning streak of reigning four-time champions Argentina with a dramatic 17-15 win. Santiago Vera Feld hit the upright with a difficult conversion that would have levelled the scores on the hooter and taken the game into golden point extra time.
Maurice Longbottom marked his 50th tournament with a touchdown in Australia’s second outing of the day — a disciplined 19-7 win over frustrated Olympic champions France, who had plenty of chances of their own, but were unable to capitalise on them. Lucas Oudard scored his first HSBC SVNS try for a faltering France on the hooter.
Viwa Naduvalo had earlier broken the 100-try barrier in just his 29th tournament as Fiji came from behind in a thriller to beat France 26-21 on the hooter.
Naduvalo’s scoring streak continued in their second outing against Argentina. But the South Americans kept their dreams of a fifth Vancouver title in a row, coming from behind to claim a 17-14 win.
His fourth and fifth of the day came in the opening seconds of their final match against Australia as Fiji ensured another semi-final run with an entertaining, free-flowing 35-14 win over already qualified Australia — though the match ended with two players in the bin as tensions spilled over.
Marcos Moneta finally got his name on a scoresheet in Argentina’s must-win final outing of day one, taking advantage of a French error to give Argentina an early advantage. He added a second in the second half — but a double for Rayan Rebbadj, and tries for Celian Pouzelgues and Simon Desert won it 28-12 for Les Bleus to leave Argentina bottom of the pool.