World Sevens News

Welsh Rugby Union | Club & Community Published 4:13 pm 14th Feb 2002 post

South Africa have closed the gap on the All Blacks in the IRB World Sevens Series, following their impressive tournament win in Wellington last weekend.
South Africa made history by winning their first ever World Sevens Series tournament. They triumphed over Samoa 17-14 in a pulsating final.
“I hope this gets Sevens rugby more accepted back home,” South Africa coach Chester Williams said. “We were a bit unlucky last week to lose to New Zealand in the semis, but we learnt a lot of positives from that defeat and that showed today.
“We’ve got a very committed squad, and they all listen to me, so they are easy to coach.”
Wales made it to the plate final, following an impressive 19-14 victory over the Austrialians – who only last week had blown away allcomers in Round Four of the Series in Brisbane – In the final the Argentinians proved too strong, winning by 52-12.

2002 Standings:After Round Five
Pos Team Pts
1 New Zealand 80
2 South Africa 72
3 Fiji 50
4 Samoa 56
5 Australia 44
6 Argentina 46
7 England 40
8 Wales 14
9 France 8
10 USA 6
11= Namibia 2
11= Cook Islands 2

IRB World Sevens Series. Round 5 Wellington. 8th-9th February 2002
Cup quarter-finals
New Zealand beat Wales 78-0
South Africa beat Australia 28-0
Samoa beat Argentina 14-7
England beat Fiji 19-14
Bowl quarter-finals
United States beat Tonga 21-14
France beat Cook Islands 10-5
Japan beat China 36-5
Canada beat Papua New Guinea 33-7
Shield semi-finals
Cook Islands beat Tonga 19-14
Papua New Guinea beat Chinese Taipei 31-17
Bowl semi-finals
France beat USA 31-14
Canada beat Japan 22-12
Plate semi-finals
Wales beat Australia 19-14
Argentina beat Fiji 21-12
Cup semi-finals
South Africa beat New Zealand 26-10
Samoa beat England 36-5
Bowl Final
Canada 5 France 26
Shield Final
Cook Islands beat Papua New Guinea 28-14
Plate Final
Argentina beat Wales 52-12
Cup Final
South Africa beat Samoa 17-14