Rugby
Bryce breaks IPA record in Vancouver
After two strong final rounds last year culminating in a Cup win at the 2017 London Sevens, Scotland has struggled to find its footing in the 2017/18 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. At the 2018 Vancouver Sevens, the team found itself in a pool against the top two sides on the circuit and failed to register a win on a difficult first day. But on day two they dusted themselves off and beat both the host nation and Wales before seeing off Spain in the Challenge Trophy final.
Though things didn’t go well for the team on day one, full-back Glenn Bryce was all over the ball, chalking up some big numbers in the carries and tackles categories and rising to the top of the DHL Performance Tracker.
“He went so well for Scotland even though they didn’t hit their straps as a team.”
Rob Vickerman
“He went so well for Scotland even though they didn’t hit their straps as a team,” says Rob Vickerman, former England captain and DHL Rugby Sevens Ambassador. “He’s there because of his carries and tackles.”
As his team picked up their performance on day two, Bryce continued to outperform the pack, racking up a record 61 points on 34 carries, 10 offloads, 11 tackles, and 6 line breaks.
Spain’s Pablo Fontes finished second with 53 points that included an industrious 25 tackles and 21 carries. Bryce’s teammate and Scotland’s top try scorer Darcy Graham followed with 48 points built on 30 carries.
Fiji on fire
Fiji finished the 2018 Vancouver Sevens unbeaten with a 31-12 victory over Kenya. It was the team’s first in Canada and 33rd win in 66 Cup finals. The victory moves them into second place, overtaking New Zealand, in the series standings.
The thrilling final was the second meeting between the two sides over the weekend as both Fiji and Kenya went head to head in Pool C on day one. Fiji took the spoils in that match with a closely contested 24-21 score line.
The final on day two followed Fiji’s victories over Argentina (43-7) in the quarter-final and South Africa (15-12) in the semi-final. It was Kenya who were first on the scoring board with a try from Willy Ambaka, but Fiji responded through Josua Vakurunabili and by half time both sides had added another to draw even 12-12 at the break. Fiji dominated the second half with three further tries, Sevuloni Mocenacagi adding to his first half score to secure a brace and the HSBC Player of the Final title.
Next up: HSBC Hong Kong Sevens
Though team Australia had to settle for 6th place after to losing to England in the 5th place playoff, Ben O’Donnell put up some impressive numbers yet again to remain at the top of the overall DHL Performance Tracker. At 259 points, he’s 20 points ahead of his nearest rival, Canada’s Justin Douglas. Let’s see if he can maintain that lead when the series moves to Hong Kong in April.
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