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Watch: Four players that smashed it at the Cape Town Sevens
By Dan Thomson
The Cape Town Sevens was the second stop on the World Series circuit for this season. As well as showing us that the All Blacks Sevens might not be in as great a demise as we all thought, it also showcased some of the outrageous highlights that you can only find in the abbreviated form of the game.
Here's some of the top performers:
It was a tough time for Uganda in Cape Town as they only claimed one win during the tournament. It didn't get any easier in their final game when Kenyan Jeffrey Olouch ran through them to score from 95 metres out. Olouch backs himself the whole way as he produces a big head on bump off, then slips another two weak tackle attempts.
Danny Barrett from the USA showed France why you should always go low as he dishes out a big don’t argue to put the defender flat on his back. Barrett then fends off the next incoming defender who tries to take him out. The 102kg flanker is not a player you want to come up against in those wide channels.
England's Harry Glover showed a great combination of speed and strength when he scored against Argentina from within his own half. Glover slips inside four Argentinian defenders with a big left foot step and then goes on to fend off the next player for almost 20 metres before breaking free and running in a try for England.
All Blacks Sevens' Joe Ravouvou caused serious trouble for the Argentinian defence in the Cup Final when he powered his way to the try line from 25 metres out. It looked like he would be wrapped up by the initial two defenders but through immense determination and leg drive he stayed on his feet for 13 seconds and beat four players to get over the line. This is one Argentina won’t want to re-watch.
The All Blacks Sevens ended up taking out the top prize with a 38- 14 win against Argentina, their first cup final victory since March 2016. However, it'll be clear for many coaches that tackling is a serious area for improvement before they regroup for the next leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series, in Sydney on 26th January.
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The better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances?
Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
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