Oracle of Delphi
KC Hill
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Craig HillAustralian Sevens Miss Top Eight Position
February 8th 2009 08:02
The Australian Sevens team has narrowly missed out on top eight position after a 26 -19 loss against New Zealand in their final pool match at the Wellington Sevens tournament .
Australia had a good start to their campaign with early wins over the Pacific Island nation Niue and Wales.
Michael O’Connor, the Australian Sevens coach, described his teams’ performance against Niue as a “bit rusty” but he was pleased to walk away with the 22 - 17 win.
Australia then played Wales, who defeated New Zealand 28 -17 in their first pool match.
This was a significant victory for Wales, who are currently ranked 20th on the World Series standings, because New Zealand are the 2008 Wellington Sevens title holders and have won eight IRB Sevens World Series crowns.
However, this did not deter O’Connor’s men, the Aussies had a disciplined first half and dominated possession and got an early 19 – 0 lead over Wales and continued this form in the second half.
“We had the run of the play in the second half. We defended well and got away with a win,” O’Connor said.
Australia comfortably defeated Wales 24 -15.
In their final pool match of the evening, the Aussie tourists played New Zealand in front of a full stadium.
“The atmosphere was great,” O’Connor said. “They [New Zealand] had a dream run, they had the wind behind them and they nailed three kick offs in a row. We had very little possession.”
“New Zealand took an early 21-0 lead then to our boys’ credit they came back and scored some magnificent tries before half time,” O’Connor said.
At the break the score was 21 - 7.
In the second half New Zealand continued their lead and ended up winning the match by a seven point margin, 26 – 19.
Australia, who was captained by Damon Murphy, finished day one in third position in their pool. They will next play Scotland tomorrow and are now positioned in the bottom half of the 16 team draw.
“We are not in the top eight which is disappointing,” O’Connor said. “There were some very close results and upsets. There has definitely been an improvement from our last tournament, which is what I am looking for.”
In other pool matches, the current World Series leadersSouth Africa got beaten in their last game by Kenya and Fiji were defeated by the USA.
Please note: Cup matches (quarter finals, semi finals and the final) will be broadcast on Fox Sports tomorrow - Saturday February 7, 2009.
Total 7 games:
4 x Cup Quarter-Finals (rx 1230 - 1400 AEDT)
2 x Cup Semi-Finals (rx 1630 - 1720 AEDT)
1 x Cup Final (rx 1855 - 2130 AEDT)
Wellington Draw:
POOL A
South Africa
Kenya
Scotland
Tonga
POOL B
New Zealand
Australia
Wales
Niue
POOL C
England
Argentina
France
Canada
POOL D
Fiji
Samoa
USA
Cook Islands
Latest results:
New Zealand 26 - 19 Australia Pool B
South Africa 17 - 22 Kenya Pool A
Fiji 19 - 5 Samoa Pool D
England 5 - 13 Argentina Pool C
Wales 34 - 10 Niue Pool B
Scotland 15 - 21 Tonga Pool A
USA 41 - 0 Cook Islands Pool D
France 12 - 12 Canada Pool C
Australia 24 - 15 Wales Pool B
New Zealand 43 - 7 Niue Pool B
Kenya 14 - 19 Scotland Pool A
South Africa 22 - 5 Tonga Pool A
Samoa 26 - 17 USA Pool D
Fiji 55 - 0 Cook Islands Pool D
Argentina 33 - 21 France Pool C
England 34 - 7 Canada Pool C
Australia 22 - 17 Niue Pool B
New Zealand 17 - 28 Wales Pool B
Kenya 21 - 14 Tonga Pool A
South Africa 24 - 0 Scotland Pool A
Samoa 12 - 5 Cook Islands Pool D
Fiji 10 - 15 USA Pool D
Argentina 17 - 17 Canada Pool C
England 26 - 10 France Pool C
ARU
Australia had a good start to their campaign with early wins over the Pacific Island nation Niue and Wales.
Michael O’Connor, the Australian Sevens coach, described his teams’ performance against Niue as a “bit rusty” but he was pleased to walk away with the 22 - 17 win.
Australia then played Wales, who defeated New Zealand 28 -17 in their first pool match.
This was a significant victory for Wales, who are currently ranked 20th on the World Series standings, because New Zealand are the 2008 Wellington Sevens title holders and have won eight IRB Sevens World Series crowns.
However, this did not deter O’Connor’s men, the Aussies had a disciplined first half and dominated possession and got an early 19 – 0 lead over Wales and continued this form in the second half.
Australian Sevens
“We had the run of the play in the second half. We defended well and got away with a win,” O’Connor said.
Australia comfortably defeated Wales 24 -15.
In their final pool match of the evening, the Aussie tourists played New Zealand in front of a full stadium.
“The atmosphere was great,” O’Connor said. “They [New Zealand] had a dream run, they had the wind behind them and they nailed three kick offs in a row. We had very little possession.”
“New Zealand took an early 21-0 lead then to our boys’ credit they came back and scored some magnificent tries before half time,” O’Connor said.
At the break the score was 21 - 7.
In the second half New Zealand continued their lead and ended up winning the match by a seven point margin, 26 – 19.
Australia, who was captained by Damon Murphy, finished day one in third position in their pool. They will next play Scotland tomorrow and are now positioned in the bottom half of the 16 team draw.
“We are not in the top eight which is disappointing,” O’Connor said. “There were some very close results and upsets. There has definitely been an improvement from our last tournament, which is what I am looking for.”
In other pool matches, the current World Series leadersSouth Africa got beaten in their last game by Kenya and Fiji were defeated by the USA.
Please note: Cup matches (quarter finals, semi finals and the final) will be broadcast on Fox Sports tomorrow - Saturday February 7, 2009.
Total 7 games:
4 x Cup Quarter-Finals (rx 1230 - 1400 AEDT)
2 x Cup Semi-Finals (rx 1630 - 1720 AEDT)
1 x Cup Final (rx 1855 - 2130 AEDT)
Wellington Draw:
POOL A
South Africa
Kenya
Scotland
Tonga
POOL B
New Zealand
Australia
Wales
Niue
POOL C
England
Argentina
France
Canada
POOL D
Fiji
Samoa
USA
Cook Islands
Latest results:
New Zealand 26 - 19 Australia Pool B
South Africa 17 - 22 Kenya Pool A
Fiji 19 - 5 Samoa Pool D
England 5 - 13 Argentina Pool C
Wales 34 - 10 Niue Pool B
Scotland 15 - 21 Tonga Pool A
USA 41 - 0 Cook Islands Pool D
France 12 - 12 Canada Pool C
Australia 24 - 15 Wales Pool B
New Zealand 43 - 7 Niue Pool B
Kenya 14 - 19 Scotland Pool A
South Africa 22 - 5 Tonga Pool A
Samoa 26 - 17 USA Pool D
Fiji 55 - 0 Cook Islands Pool D
Argentina 33 - 21 France Pool C
England 34 - 7 Canada Pool C
Australia 22 - 17 Niue Pool B
New Zealand 17 - 28 Wales Pool B
Kenya 21 - 14 Tonga Pool A
South Africa 24 - 0 Scotland Pool A
Samoa 12 - 5 Cook Islands Pool D
Fiji 10 - 15 USA Pool D
Argentina 17 - 17 Canada Pool C
England 26 - 10 France Pool C
ARU
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Go to Craig Hill's home page for information about corporate training courses, university preparation courses and writing services available
