SOLITARY VICTORY: Kenya finish 11th in IRB Women's 7s world series in Hong Kong

Mary Otieno (left) attacks South Africa’s captain Zanay Jordaan during main Cup finals in the women’s tournament at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County in July. [PHOTO:DENNIS OKEYO]

Kenya finished 11th overall at the IRB Women's Sevens World Series qualifiers in Hong Kong after beating Mexico 55-0 to post their solitary win of the competition. They had earlier lost their preliminary round matches on Friday, going down 0-31 to Japan, 0-45 to eventual winners Fiji and 5-19 to Argentina. They would then fall to a narrow 12-14 loss to hosts Hong Kong on Saturday before playing Mexico.

Fiji, China, France and South Africa will play at every event on the IRB Women's Sevens World Series 2014/15 after reaching the Cup semi-finals of the qualifier at Shek Kip Mei Sports Ground in Hong Kong on Saturday.

The Fijians had entered day two as the top seeds after three victories on day one and proved too strong for Portugal, scoring four tries to win the opening quarter-final 28-7.

Asia's leading women's Sevens side China had wrapped up their place as a core team by half-time with some powerful running and impressive passing resulting in five tries against Brazil. The Rio 2016 hosts had no answer and could only manage a consolation try just before the final whistle.

France scored early but then spent long periods on defence as Japan kept possession in the third quarter-final. Two tries from Caroline Ladagnous, though, helped France lead 21-0 at half-time.
Japan fought back bravely in the second half but slipped to a 21-12 defeat.

It was left to South Africa, therefore, to cause the one upset in the Cup quarter-finals by beating the Netherlands 22-7. The Dutch had, like Fiji, won all three games on day one, but three first-half tries gave South Africa a 15-0 lead and some strong defence ensured they won 22-7.

The four nations – three of who faced each other in Pool A on day one in Hong Kong – will join defending champions New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England, Russia, Spain and USA as core teams on the 2014/15 Series, which starts in Dubai in December and features six rounds.

Fiji, who are coached by former men's coach Iliesa Tanivula, and France went on to reach the Cup final and treated the crowd to an exciting affair with only two points separating the teams at the break. France, though, looked on course for victory after two tries took them out to a 19-5 advantage.

The Fijians took time to regroup and battled back to tie the scores with just seconds on the clock. France fumbled the restart and Fijiana capitalised to grab the winning try and the silverware in Hong Kong.

China, who had narrowly lost 21-19 to Fiji in the semi-finals, finished third after edging South Africa 12-7 in a tightly fought match where the Asian side's consistency proved the difference.

Plate competition

Japan won the Plate final with a convincing 38-7 victory over Brazil. The Japanese will be pleased with their strong finish to the tournament, having beaten the Netherlands 14-5 in an exciting match and then proved too strong for Brazil. The Brazilians had reached the final after battling past Portugal 10-0 in a much closer affair than their meeting in the pool stages the day before.

The Netherlands had to settle for seventh place after beating Portugal 31-7.

Bowl competition

Their dreams of qualification had ended on day one, but Hong Kong delighted the home crowd with a strong second-half performance in the final against Argentina, going from level at half-time to comfortable 26-7 winners.

Hong Kong, coached by Black Ferns legend and four time Women's Rugby World Cup winner Anna Richards, had edged Kenya 14-12 in the semi-finals and the African nation then finished on a high with a 55-0 victory over a tiring Mexican side to finish 11th.

Day two results

Argentina 34-7 Mexico
Hong Kong 14-12 Kenya
Fiji 28 -7 Portugal
China 45-7 Brazil
France 21-12 Japan
Netherlands 7-22 South Africa
Mexico 0-55 Kenya
Argentina 7-26 Hong Kong
Portugal 0-10 Brazil
Japan 13-5 Netherlands
Fiji 21-19 China
France 14-5 South Africa
Portugal 7-31 Netherlands
Brazil 7-38 Japan
China 12-7 South Africa
Fiji 24-19 France

Tournament ranking

1. Fiji
2. France
3. China
4. South Africa
5. Japan
6 .Brazil
7. Netherlands
8. Portugal
9. Hong Kong
10. Argentina
11. Kenya
12. Mexico