Australia, Scotland miss out on quarter-final of Hong Kong leg of HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series

Australia and Scotland have narrowly missed the quarter-final stage as the first day of the Hong Kong leg in the World Rugby Sevens Series kicked-off on Saturday.

Pool A:

South Africa continued their form from Vancouver 7s as they went on to defeat Japan, Scotland and Samoa with a margin of 22-7, 26-10 and 21-7 respectively as they went on to claim the top place in Pool A. With Japan losing all their three games and languishing at the bottom of the table, it was all down to the encounter between Samoa and Scotland to decide the second positioned team with the Pacific Island team registering a 17-7 win.

Pool B:

France showed total domination with 40-7 win over Portugal while they also completed a 24-12 and 26-14victories over Canada and Argentina respectively to remain undefeated. Argentina edged out Canada 19-14 in what was a decisive game with both the teams also beating Portugal, who finished last.

Pool C:

Fiji have received a much-needed boost in a bid to claim the top place in the overall standings, with wins over Kenya, Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand's 40-19 win over Australia proved vital in their second finish while Australia with two defeats will now feature in the Challenge Cup along with Kenya.

Pool D:

The limelight was England's Dan Norton as he surpassed Collins Injera to become the new all-time leading sevens series try-scorer in Hong Kong on the opening day. England though had a huge scare when they were 5-19 down against Wales at half-time but managed to turnaround and complete a 36-19 win. A 54-5 win over Spain further boosted their momentum while a thrilling 22-28 victory against USA saw them finish unbeaten and the top place in Pool D. USA, Wales and Spain all had a win apiece in the opening round but USA managed to seal the second spot with a better points difference.

RE:LIVE: @Dan_Norton4 is a genius. It's official. #DHLRugby #HK7s pic.twitter.com/pGMWJLL1hn

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) April 6, 2019

Quarter-finals line-up

Your World Rugby Men's Sevens Series Qualifier quarter-finals in Hong Kong@DRVRugby v @RugbyUruguay @IrishRugby v @russiarugby @chilerugby1 v @officialTongaRU @HongKongRugby v @PhilippineRugby pic.twitter.com/RdBlI2L33q

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) April 6, 2019