Hong Kong Sevens 2012 - Day One

The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens got going in fine style on Friday afternoon, as a near capacity, 39,000 fans flooded in to the Hong Kong Stadium.

The new tournament format for this year has already lived up to expectations with a number of very close and competitive matches, with teams from both competitions really pushing hard to start their campaigns off on a positive note.

Hong Kong certainly got off to the start they wanted, with a 17-14 win over Uruguay in a physical and competitive match. A bright start took Hong Kong into a 10-0 lead, with tries from Tom McQueen and Ross Armour. Uruguay stayed in touch with a try just before half time, but Keith Robertson extended the lead early in the second, which was enough to hold off the South Americans.

“This is a sound start but we won’t get carried away with it. We need just one more win to ensure we book a quarterfinal place in the qualifying competition,” said a happy Hong Kong coach, Dai Rees.

Defending champions New Zealand got their campaign off to a winning start defeating the United States in their first pool game. The HSBC Sevens World Series leaders won 29-5 to lead the charge of the top teams on the opening night at So Kon Po.

Also winning their opening games were Fiji, England, South Africa and Samoa.

England saw off a determined challenge from Argentina, with tries from Dan Norton, Rob Vickerman and Mat Turner helping Ben Ryan’s team shake off the cobwebs to come from behind to win 19-10.

A solid defensive effort allowed South Africa to defeat Wales 10-0 while Samoa had an equally hard time before overcoming Kenya 19-7.

Fiji had the easiest opening day, knocking off Scotland 39-5 in an impressive display of power and pace.

In the Qualifier tournament, there were wins for Canada and Portugal over newcomers, Philippines and Guyana respectively, whilst other group favourites Tonga overcame a spirited China in their Pool D fixture.

Sevens World Cup host next year, Russia, also got their campaign off to a promising start with a solid win over Japan.

Pictures from the 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens already uploaded: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

See more from Day One, Day Two and Day Three, as well even more at: 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. 

See other recent news regarding: Airlines, Airports, Awards, Flights, Codeshare, FFP, Inflight, Lounges, First Class, Business Class, MICE, GDS, Rewards, Miles, Hotels, Apartments, Promotions, Spas, Yoga, Retreat, New Hotels, Traffic, Visitor Arrivals, Cruises, Free Deals, Interviews, Videos, Tickets, HSBC, Cathay Pacific, Rugby, Hong Kong, Sevens