The Blues had qualified with the Dragons for the Premiership finals the previous weekend at the Twickenham Stoop and managed to squeeze into the Cup quarter-finals at the end of Day 1 thanks to a crushing 41-5 Pool B victory over Premiership champions Gloucester.
That was their only win on the opening day, going down to eventual champions Buenos Aires 33-14 and the Blue Bulls 24-21, but Jevon Groves’ side had done enough to claim the eighth qualifying spot for the top tournament on Day 2.
That meant a return fixture with eventual champions Buenos Aires, who arrived in London determined to make up for last year’s defeat in the final and having just won their national title. This time it was a much closer game, with the Blues going down 7-5.
Groves scored the try that gave the Blues a 5-0 interval lead, but the Argentinians hit back with a try and conversion in the second half to clinch the semi-final berth. That meant the Blues went into the Plate semi-finals to face crack Russian outfit, RC Enisei.
The Russians had beaten New York and the Harlequins in their Pool to reach the knock-out stages of the top tournament, but went down 19-12 to fellow countrymen Kuban Krasnodar in the last eight.
The Blues turned on the style in the Plate semi-final to run in seven tries, including a two-try salvo from Garyn Smith, to beat RC Enisei 35-5 to set-up a final against one of the teams that had beaten them on Day 1, the Blue Bulls.
Having just failed to gain revenge on Buenos Aires, who went on to take the title with six straight victories, beating Auckland 26-22 in the Cup final, Groves’ men got their own back on the South Africans with a 28-12 triumph that included two tries from Wales Sevens speedster Luke Morgan.
World Club 7s Results
Day 1
POOL A
RC Enisei 26 New York 17
Harlequins 19 Western Province 38
RC Enisei 33 Harlequins 12
Western Province 26 New York 26
RC Enisei 24 Western Province 35
New York 24 Harlequins 7
POOL B
Gloucester Rugby 14 Vodacom Blue Bulls 36
Buenos Aires 33 Cardiff Blues 14
Gloucester Rugby 5 Cardiff Blues 41
Blue Bulls 7 Buenos Aires 26
Gloucester Rugby 10 Buenos Aires 33
Blue Bulls 24 Cardiff Blues 21
POOL C
Auckland 21 Kuban Krasnodar 15
NSW Waratahs 14 Seattle 33
Kuban Krasnodar 28 NSW Waratahs 19
Auckland 19 Seattle 12
Kuban Krasnodar 17 Seattle 5
Auckland 34 NSW Waratahs 12
Day 2
CUP
QUARTER-FINALS
Buenos Aires 7 Cardiff Blues 5
RC Enisei 12 Kuban Krasnodar 19
Auckland 36 New York 5
Western Province 22 Blue Bulls 12
SEMI-FINALS
Buenos Aires 35 Kuban Krasnodar 12
Auckland 19 Western Province 14
FINAL
Buenos Aires 26 Auckland 22
3rd/4th PLACE PLAY-OFF
Kuban Krasnodar 20 Western Province 19
PLATE
SEMI-FINALS
Cardiff Blues 35 RC Enisei 5
New York 14 Blue Bulls 31
FINAL
Cardiff Blues 28 Blue Bulls 12
7th PLACE PLAY-OFF
RC Enisei 7 New York 34
SHIELD
SEMI-FINALS
NSW Waratahs 19 Harlequins 26
Seattle 22 Gloucester Rugby 12
FINAL
Harlequins 14 Seattle 28
11th PLACE PLAY-OFF
NSW Waratahs 17 Gloucester Rugby 22
