Varying fates for Aussie Sevens sides

Sat, Apr 14, 2018, 1:11 PM
Sam Phillips
by Sam Phillips

The second day of Commonwealth Games action is in the books and the semi finalists have been locked in.

Unfortunately, those semi finals will not feature the Australian Men, who bombed out of medal contention after a heartbreaking loss to England.

The Australian Women will be the stars of the show, kicking off their semi final at 10:59am AEST, against Canada.

Here's how all the action panned out at Robina Stadium.

11pm - Men's semi finals locked in

Zain Davids of South Africa fends off Gairo Kapana of PNG. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyThe Aussie Men have been relegated to a fight for fifth place but there is still gold to be won and there are four nations left standing.

England will face New Zealand at 11:43am AEST, with South Africa to square off against Fiji at 12:05pm AEST.

Australia will face Kenya in a fifth place playoff semi finals prior to those matches, kicking off at 10:15am AEST.

10pm - Friend reflects on loss to England

Australian Men's Sevens coach Andy Friend shared his thoughts on a devastating loss to England post match.


8:30pm - Men's Pool B - England 26 Australia 17

Australia's Men have bowed out of medal contention, suffering a heartbreaking defeat to England.

Jesse Parahi set the tone for the Australians when he rocked an English player from the opening kick off and 30 seconds later, Tom Lucas threw a cutout pass to put Ben O'Donnell in for the first points of the match.

England worked their way up the field and returned serve through Dan Norton before John Porch made a half break and tried to put his support away, only for Tom Mitchell to be sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knockdown.

Boyd Killingworth and the Aussies couldn't get past England. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyThe Australians immediately made the Poms pay, Porch falling over the line after Lachie Anderson made a half break.

Lucas slotted a tough conversion to put the Australians up 12-5 but an ill-advised Charlie Taylor kick and a pair of missed tackles saw England respond once more, Phil Burgess the try scorer.

That levelled the scores at 12-all at the break and missed tackles were once again Australia's kryptonite when play resumed, as Ruaridh McConnochie crossed to give England their first lead, at 19-12.

Finally Maurice Longbottom entered the fray and he immediately provided the spark Australia craved, drawing two defenders and putting Tom Connor away to cut the gap to two.

But as they had all match, England responded once again through Alex Davis to put the result beyond doubt.

8pm - Women's semi finals

Now that all the Women's pool matches are done and dusted, the fixtures for tomorrow are locked in.

The semi finals will kick off at 10:59am AEST when Australia face Canada, with New Zealand's clash against England to follow immediately after at 11:21am AEST.

7:45pm - Women's Pool B - Australia 17 Fiji 10

Australia have scraped past Fiji by the skin of their teeth, booking a semi final showdown with Canada thanks to a Charlotte Caslick double.

It was far from the glittering rugby the Australians typically employ but it was enough to get the job done and that's all coach Tim Walsh will be worried about.

Emma Tonegato picked up where she left off, flashing her trademark shimmy to slice the line and score Australia's first, with one minute played.Emma Tonegato scored the opener against Fiji. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyMiriama Naobasali returned serve for the Fijians to level things up, sprinting 80 metres to score after cleaning up a loose Tonegato offload.

Fiji pinned the Aussies in their half for the remainder of the term but the home side did not help themselves, dropping too much ball and not finding the mark with their passing often enough.

That meant the two sides went into the sheds locked up at 5-all and it was left to Charlotte Caslick to blow the game open when play resumed, splitting the line with a dummy before sprinting 70 metres to dot down.

Alicia Quirk and the Aussies scraped past Fiji. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyIt was Naobasali that responded again, beating a Caslick tackle and running 50 metres to level the scores with four to play.

Caslick then did it again with 30 seconds to play, keeping Australia's perfect record in tact on the Gold Coast.

5:50pm - Williams to take no further part

Sharni Williams will take no further part in the tournament. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyAustralian Women's Sevens co-captain Sharni Williams has been ruled out of the remainder of the Commonwealth Games with a sprained ankle.

Williams was spotted on crutches as the squad entered Robina Stadium and it has since been confirmed that she will play no further part.

Georgina Friedrichs, who turned 23 today, will take Williams' spot in the squad.

RESULTS

Men's Pool Matches - Round one + two

Pool A

Scotland 27 PNG 0

South Africa 43 Malaysia 0

Scotland 41 Malaysia 0

South Africa 52 PNG 0

Pool B

Samoa haven't recorded a win, yet. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyAustralia 24 Samoa 7

England 38 Jamaica 5

Australia 32 Jamaica 5

England 33 Samoa 0

Pool C

Kenya 26 Canada 10

New Zealand 54 Zambia 0

Canada 47 Zambia 0

New Zealand 40 Kenya 7

Pool D

Fiji are flying through their first two starts. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyWales 31 Uganda 5

Fiji 53 Sri Lanka 5

Wales 42 Sri Lanka 12

Fiji 54 Uganda 0

Women's Pool Matches - Round two

Pool A

Kenya 19 South Africa 10

New Zealand 22 Canada 7

 

2:40pm - We'll be back soon

That's all the action for the day session - we'll be back at 5:31pm for the resumption of play.

Here all the results so far today.

2:20pm - Sleepy afternoon the key for Aussies

A quick sleep will be the key to overcoming the seven hour break between matches, as Australia prepare for a must win pool showdown with England.

The unique format of the Commonwealth Games means only the top nation from each pool will progress and with Australia and England both two from two, the winner will advance to face New Zealand.

The loser is eliminated from podium calculations altogether.Maurice Longbottom scored a hat trick against Jamaica. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyIt's a cut throat format but Friend will have his side primed come kick off at 8:05pm.

"Our boys - we will probably give them a good sleep window and then bring them back out," Friend said.

"We will know it's our final now, against England."

Tom Lucas did not take part in the win over Jamaica and Friend said he was a 50-50 shot to take his place against the Poms.Ben O'Donnell and the Aussies must beat England tonight to remain a gold medal hope. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"We'll see how it goes for this last game but it's the one position we didn't need to lose - another halfback," Friend said.

"We didn't want to put him out there then - we just need to give him the chance to recover.

"That's where Johnny Porch, Moz, Quinny, they all come into that sort of role."

1:32pm - Men's Pool B - Australia 32 Jamaica 5

Australia have breezed past Jamaica to go back-to-back on day two, setting up a winner takes all showdown with England tonight.

Ben O'Donnell kicked the match off in style with a gliding run to the try line, dummying to his inside to avert the Jamaican cover defence.

Maurice Longbottom then left his opposite number for dead 70 out from the line, scorching the turf en route to his second of the day.John Porch scored an athletic try in the first half. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyThe Australians had settled into their flow by this point and with just over two to play in the first half, John Porch found his way to the line with a sharp turn of foot.Longbottom and Jesse Parahi then combined for the former's third try of the day but the Jamaicans responded, leaving the score poised at 20-5 at the break.

Jamaica controlled possession through the first three minutes of the second term but Australia repelled their attack and responded with a try of their own, Sam Meyers touching down.Tom Connor put in another big shift against Jamaica. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyLongbottom added his third with an athletic finish in the corner, the final nail in the Jamaican coffin.

The winner of Australia's clash with England will now determine which side progresses to the semi finals.

11:40am - Fiji in full flight

The Fijians were tested in patches by a hearty Sri Lankan side but won the crowd over with some typical flair.Fiji's Ratu Vakurinabili contests a restart with Rehan Silva of Sri Lanka. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley

Even these guys were impressed...Some interesting outfits have been spotted around Robina Stadium... Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley

10:30am - Porch preaches importance of defence

The try scoring heroics of Lachie Anderson and Maurice Longbottom stole the show in Australia's win over Samoa but it was the team's defence which played a critical, understated role.

A Porch try saver in the first half typified the Australian defensive effort, which holds the key to their success this weekend.Jesse Parahi was a defensive force against Samoa. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"Defence in this game is everything," Porch said.

"If I don't make that tackle they go and score seven points, if I make that tackle we get a turnover and go and score seven points.

"We talk a lot about defence winning us games and that was a prime example."

Australia followed that defence with ferocious work at the breakdown, forcing four penalties on Samoan ball.Tom Lucas did not feature in the second half against Samoa. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart Walmsley"We've got boys out there - Jesse Parahi, Tom Connor, Boyd Killingworth - they're experts over the ball and they save us.

"They get us a lot of ball back and we are able to turn defence into attack with those three out there."

Tom Lucas copped a knee knock in the first half and did not feature in the second term but the Australians are hopeful he will still line up against Jamaica.

9:50am - Men's Pool B - Australia 24 Samoa 7

Australia's Men have started their Commonwealth Games campaign in scintillating fashion, cruising past Samoa in style.

Samoa had all the early ball and after a multi phase movement they finally broke Australia's line, Neria Fomai getting past John Porch en route to the line.The Aussie Men are off to the perfect start. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyThe Aussies duly responded, a determined run from captain Jesse Parahi and some superb hands from Tom Lucas setting up Lachie Anderson to level things up at 7-all with just under three minutes left in the first term.

Anderson stretched out to add another one minute later, Lucas again playing a starring role in the Samoan red zone.

Maurice Longbottom then entered the fray and with his first touch he juked his way through four defenders before sprinting away to open up a 17-7 half time lead.Lachie Anderson nabbed a first half double against Samoa. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyWhen play resumed Tom Connor followed Longbottom's lead, forcing a penalty at the breakdown before scoring with his first touch, too.

That was a constant theme of the second term, Australia punishing Samoa at the breakdown and cruising to a comfortable win.

9am - Aussie Men tune up ahead of opener

Australian Men's Sevens coach Andy Friend gave his side one final chance to blow out the cobwebs on Friday morning.


8:45am - Green machine finds top gear

Ellia Green was the star of the show against England, scoring a try for the ages to keep the Aussies in the hunt at half time.


See what coach Tim Walsh had to say about Green and much more here.

8:30am - Day one wrap

A sold out Robina Stadium was treated to some thrilling action last night and Australia sent the fans home happy, putting together a brilliant second half to breeze past England.Robina Stadium was packed to the rafters on Friday. Photo: RUGBY.com.au/Stuart WalmsleyICYMI, here's how all the action panned out.

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