US stun New Zealand in World Rugby Sevens opener

England, South Africa and Fiji all went unbeaten on day one of the new HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series that kicked off in Dubai but New Zealand suffered a shock defeat by the United States.

Captain Sam Dickson had three tries as New Zealand qualified for the quarterfinals at the Dubai Sevens with a pool match to spare. “I also liked Alicia Quirk’s physicality in the final game against England while Shannon [Parry] affected several key turnovers”. “In terms of the guys that have joined the team, Rayno (Benjamin) and Cheslin (Kolbe) have been in and out of the setup for the last couple of years already so they’re very much accustomed with what we do here”, Brown said.

In the other Cup Quarter-Finals at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, England will play Canada, Russia face off against Spain and Fiji meet France.

“We love playing New Zealand and they love playing us – it should be a great game”.

But Horan said New Zealand had learned some good lessons in the Australian loss and that was borne out in the way they picked themselves up against a good Fijian side who they beat 33-12 in the Plate semi-final, and Canada, who they defeated in extra time 24-19. The Black Ferns scored 19 straight points over the next three minutes.

The Canadian women, who placed second in the overall standings last season, came to the tournament without the services of Ghislaine Landry, Ashley Steacy, Hannah Darling, Natasha Watcham-Roy, Bianca Farella, Sara Kaljuvee, Elissa Alarie and Nadia Popov. “Both tournaments are important to us”, Ayimba said before the team’s departure.

Kelly Russell and Karen Paquin scored tries for an early Canadian lead against New Zealand in the Plate final but the tide turned after Megan Lukan was yellow-carded.

Mulhall broke through the Canadian defence to finish and convert her own try in the first half, but the Canadians struck back nearly immediately when Jen Kish strode clear after an offload from the lethal Magali Harvey, making it 7-7 at the break.

Rugby sevens is reaching and inspiring new audiences in record numbers, with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games the target for the finest players on the planet.

The focus switches to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in February before stops in Atlanta and Langford, B.C.