England put a stop to the Fijians unbeaten run when they got the better of the Pacific Islanders in the Cup semi finals by 19-12 at the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens worked off in Dubai in front of a packed crowd. This is the first time the Fiji outfit was beaten in the current IRB (international Rugby Board) World rugby series this year. England now after two close games against New Zealand and Fiji moved to meet France in the Cup finals.
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| Sri Lankan born Imad Riyal representing UAE scores the first ever try in their International Rugby sevens in Dubai. Samoa went on to beat the UAE 55-12 |
In the first Cup Quarter finals Fiji who are in a severe 13 year drought of not been able to win the Dubai sevens had a field game when they outclassed the in experience Australian outfit 34-7.
New Zealand the initial tournament runner-up at Gold Coast event were knocked out by the far superior England outfit. New Zealand led by D J Forbes suffered as they were defending most part of the game. In the third Cup quarter final defending World sevens Champion Wales were beaten in a tight game where the Argentina outfit came back in the very last moment to win the nail bitter 7-5. In the last Quarter finals South Africa were thrashed in day light but the Frenchmen. They booked their semi final berth with an easy 19-5 win.
Results of matches played yesterday at the time of going to press
Canada beat Samoa 26-17, USA beat Zimbabwe 41-7, Scotland beat UAE 40-5, Portugal beat Kenya 24-12, Fiji beat Australia 34-7, England beat New Zealand 10-7, Argentina beat Wales 7-5, France beat South Africa 19-5, Samoa beat Zimbabwe 21-12, Kenya beat UAE 35-5, USA beat Canada 33-5, Scotland beat Portugal 19-17, Australia beat New Zealand 26-12 , South Africa beat Wales 22-5, England beat Fiji 19-12.
At the time of going to press the following teams qualified for Shield, Bowl, Plate and Cup Finals
Samoa vs Kenya -Shield Final; USA vs Kenya -Bowl Final; Australia vs South Africa-Plate FinalEngland vs France -Cup Final.
Two referees from Sri Lanka Irshad Cader and Dika Peiries were on duty at the domestic rugby tournament. Meanwhile Vimal Perera is officiating as an assessor in this domestic tournament.
Sri Lankan born Clement Isaac who is in UAE now too officiated in this tournament. He is one of the top 5 referees in UAE. |
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