WUC Rugby Sevens – day 1: tries galore!

There were no rain clouds in sight on the unusually warm winter’s day in Namibia, yet tries rained down heavily on the Swakopmund Central Sports Stadium field in a pulsating first day of action in the 8^th edition of the FISU World University Rugby Sevens Championships.

The French ladies‘ team were too strong for South AfricaThe action kicked off in the women’s event at midday, with South Africa making the perfect start to the tournament with a comfortable 27-0 victory over Brazil, while Australia got the better of Belgium 17-10 in a much closer affair.

The ladies returned to action later in the day as France, who earlier received a bye in the five-team ladies pool, asserted their dominance with a 43-0 win over South Africa, before going on to beat Australia 15-5 in the penultimate game of the day to top the ladies’ standings after day 1.

With the music blaring and keeping fans, athletes and officials in a jovial mood under the merciless African sun, the men’s competition kicked off early in the afternoon with a Pool A Asian derby as Malaysia overpowered Sri Lanka 34-0.

Locals who had taken time off work on Thursday afternoon, along with family and friends of the Namibian athletes, were all on their feet minutes later as the hosts took to their field, giving the home supporters much to cheer about in their 29-7 victory over Colombia. And those very same fans were treated to a rugby spectacle later in the day as the hosts gave the crowd what they were after with a resounding 52-0 win over Sri Lanka to take charge of their pool.

France is looking like the team to beat in Group B following dominant 54-0 and 31-0 victories over Zambia and Uganda, with Argentina also making it two wins from two as they were also triumphant over the very same opponents, with Friday’s France-Argentina clash set to be a thriller.

In the three-team Pool C, only two games took place as heavyweights South Africa impressed in the day’s highest scoring game as they tore apart the Chinese defence at will, ending up as 66-0 victors after the 14 minutes of play. Australia were almost as dominant over the dejected Chinese, beating them 59-0 in the last men’s game of the day, setting up an enticing encounter between South Africa and Australia on Friday afternoon.

Despite the many high-scoring games and vast differences on the scoreboard, all the games were played in good spirit, with athletes quick to embrace, shake hands and share a smile after each encounter.

The unique Pop-Up Festival, complete with food and beverage stalls of any and every kind, a play area for children as well as various merchandise on sale, provided a diffeent attraction alongside the rugby field, with more locals expected to descend upon the Swakopmund Stadium on Friday and over the weekend in what is turning out to be a spectacular FISU Rugby Sevens event.

Day 1 results:

Women:

Men: