It was the second round of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Dubai this weekend, and it was a tournament full of upsets and surprises with Samoa emerging the eventual winners, beating New Zealand in the Cup Final. From a Great Britain perspective, England lost to Portugal on the opening day but came back to win the Shield, whilst Wales beat Canada to win the Plate. Emerging rugby nations Spain and Canada also showed fine form in front of a packed, party loving crowd.
The video includes match highlights and interviews with England coach Ben Ryan and player Marcus Watson, Scotland coach Phil Greening, Wales player Lee Williams, Samoa coach Faamaoni Lalomilo and HSBC ambassador George Gregan.
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IRB Confirms Pool Draw for Round 3 of HSBC Sevens World Series in South Africa
The IRB has confirmed the pool draw for round three of the HSBC Sevens World Series, the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay SA Sevens in Port Elizabeth on 8-9 December 2012.
The draw was made live on television before the Cup final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, the second round of the 2012/13 season, which was won by Samoa.
SA POOLS >> CLICK HERE
SA FIXTURES >> CLICK HERE
Hosts South Africa were drawn in a tough Pool A, where they will face Dubai winners Samoa, France and Australia.
New Zealand, the defending South Africa tournament champions, lost to Samoa in the Dubai final and head Pool B, which also includes their great rivals Fiji as well as auld enemies Scotland and England.
The third-ranked team in Dubai, Kenya, head Pool C and were drawn against Wales, Argentina and Spain.
Dubai surprise package quarter finalists Portugal and Canada will line up in Pool D with USA and African regional qualifiers, Zimbabwe.
New Zealand currently lead the World Series standings on 38 points after two rounds, followed by Fiji, Kenya, Samoa (32), France (27) and South Africa (24).
WORLD SERIES STANDINGS >> CLICK HERE
Samoa Beat New Zealand to Win Enthralling Dubai Sevens
Samoa win Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens
– New Zealand lead HSBC Sevens World Series after two rounds
– Wales win Plate; Argentina win Bowl; England win Shield
– Record broadcast figures for Dubai Sevens
– Rights-free photos and audio available for download
Samoa defeated New Zealand 26-15 in the final of an enthralling 2012 Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens to claim their maiden Dubai title and kick-start their HSBC Sevens World Series challenge.
Paul Perez scored a try inside 10 seconds for the Samoans and scored again to help inspire a victory that takes the Samoans to joint second in the Series with Fiji and Kenya, behind leaders New Zealand.
HSBC SEVENS WORLD SERIES STANDINGS >> CLICK HERE
Earlier, Wales beat Canada 21-14 to win the Plate, Argentina edged South Africa to lift the Bowl and defending champions England ended a disappointing campaign by claiming the Shield.
FULL ROUND-UP >> CLICK HERE
The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, featuring both the men’s tournament won by Samoa and the historic first women’s Series event won by New Zealand, attracted a record television audience. No fewer than 22 broadcasters around the world have been showing the live pictures to around 230 million homes across 140 countries.
At the end of day two at 7he Sevens, rights-free action and trophy-lift photos are available, as well as audio with Samoa coach Faamoni Lalomilo and captain Afa Aiono, Rhys Shellard (WAL), Nicolas Bruzzone (ARG), Ben Ryan (ENG), Victor Matfield, IRB CEO Brett Gosper, Jean Baptiste Gobelet (FRA), Mike Friday (KEN), Michael O’Connor (AUS) and DJ Forbes (NZL – post-semi final). ACCESS RIGHTS-FREE MATERIAL >>
