Vancouver 7’s officially kicked off the 2022 event Saturday morning on newly laid turf at BC Place Stadium that saw 16 teams kicked off the event for only the fifth time since 2016.
France and Argentina kicked off this year’s match as they battled to a 12-12 tie in Pool D as both teams stood at 0-0-1 with all game’s continuing throughout the afternoon.
The opening match was followed by one that saw Ireland edge Scotland by a 19-12 score to improve to 1-0, while Scotland fell to 0-1.
Group B in the morning saw Samoa challenge Wales, managing to pull out a 26-12 victory to improve to 1-0 and Wales fell to 0-1 while New Zealand blasted Japan by a commanding 40-14 score improving to 1-0 while Japan fell to 0-1.
Group A saw powerhouse United States take on Kenya pulling out a huge upset as they handed the Americans a 19-17 as Kenya started off with a 1-0 record and the Americans fell to 0-1.
One match filtered into the next that saw Fiji defeat England 27-12 to improve to 1-0 in the tournament.
Group C saw South Africa 32-12 winners over Spain in their opening match improving to 1-0 followed by a match that saw Australia defeat Canada 26-10 putting them in a tie for top spot at 1-0.
Pool D saw Argentina defeat Scotland 24-5 to remain undefeated 1-0-1, while France were 29-12 winners over Ireland improving to 2-0.
Action continued in Pool B that saw Samoa hand Japan a 35-10 loss to secore to a 2-0 record while Japan fell to 0-2.
Other action in Pool B saw New Zealand hammer Wales 38-5 improving to 2-0 while Wales fell to 0-2.
The next match in Pool A saw the United States record their first win of the tournament by a 20-19 win over England improving to 1-1 while England fell to a 1-1 in round robin play.
In matches in the mid part of the day saw FIJI defeat Kenya 38-7 as both teams went on to improve to 1-1 in tournament play.
Pool C continued that saw Canada fall by a 19-14 margin to South Africa dropping to 0-2, while South Africa improved to 2-0 while Canada’s next march saw them drop to 0-2 after a 26-10 loss to Australia in their first game.
The powerhouse Australians played Spain in the other Group C match who were no match to the powerful Ausies in a 38-0 defeat that had Australia improving to 2-0, while Spain fell to 0-2.
Fans were entertained by the popular band “Fully Loaded” between each match while the game’s resumed with France defeating Scotland 21-19 improving to 2-0, with the next match showcase Argentina who went on to defeat Wales by a 19-14 tally, remaining undefeated.
Fiji took on rival New Zealand which was a test of two undefeated teams that saw the All Blacks defeated Samoa 31-24 to remain undefeated going to 2-0, while Samoa fell to 1-1.
Pool A returned as Kenya took on England that saw England’s the last try give them a 19-12 win, improving to 2-1, while Kenya fell to 1-2.
The last match in Pool A saw Fiji take on the United States that saw Fiji hammer the US by a resounding 33 to 12 giving Fiji top spot in Pool A going undefeated 3-0 while the US fell to 1-2 tied with Kenya at 1-2.
The next match saw Canada and Spain square off as both teams were 0-2 that saw Canada pull out a much needed 26-21 finishing third in Pool C
The final match of day one for first place in Group C saw Australia square off with South Africa, as both teams went in undefeated at 2-0 for first place in their group.
South Africa scored two late tries to defeat Australia 22-19 going undefeated while the Aussies sit second at 2-1.
Day one of the event saw24 totally entertaining matches played in the four groups that make up the 16 teams at this year’s tournament heading into Sunday’s Championship at BC Place.
A complete recap of the game’s action for Rugby 7’s at BC Place
