The first day of action of the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens concluded this evening at the Singapore National Stadium.

The event delivered the goods, with nail-biting matches, epic tries and last-minute upsets.

Photo credit: HSBC 7s

Group of Death

In Pool A, dubbed the Group of Death, three top-ranked teams, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa battled it out in a spectacle of world-class rugby action. Rounding off the Group of Death was Hong Kong. The two survivors from this group were New Zealand and Australia, who progressed to the quarter finals.

They were accompanied by Argentina and Samoa, both of whom topped their pools with perfect win records. Samoa earned their place with a shock 28-7 win over Fiji, snapping their 15-game losing streak against the reigning champions in the process.

Argentina, New Zealand and Samoa topped their pools with perfect win records on the first day of competition.

Multiple shock results

This was not the only shock of the first day. In other shockers, Uruguay defeat the USA for the first time since 2006 and Canada enjoyed their first win in five attempts against Spain.

France, Fiji, Uruguay and Great Britain, also progress to the quarter finals and will be playing in Sunday’s games. 

Sunday’s games

Defending champions Fiji have a tough quarter final tie against France today and this will truly put their skills to the test.

In other quarter finals matches, Samoa take on Uruguay, Argentina are up against Australia and New Zealand will be playing Great Britain.

The final day begins at 10:50am today with the quarter finals, followed by the semi finals at 4:13pm and the gold medal match at 7:28pm.

If the All Blacks Sevens lift the trophy in Singapore, they will secure their place in the line-up at the  Paris 2024 Olympic Games with two rounds left to go.

However, pool runners up Australia, Fiji, Uruguay and Great Britain are still in with a shout at clinching the overall Cup title, with Singapore being the ninth stop of the world rugby sevens series. 

The Family Sevens

Widely known as the Family Sevens, the off-pitch action saw rugby fans of all hers strutting their stuff with vibrant 80s inspired costumes and an appearance of bumblebees. Fans also brought flags and hand-made posters to show support for their favourite teams.

Activities featured unclouded the Roller Disco zone, food from the likes of Meat Smith, The Travelling C.O.W and Burnt Ends Bakery, live music from local pop musicians and the chance to meet rugby legends.

The half-pipe facility – The Stingray® and the Lazy River at Splash-N-Surf were also popular amongst rugby fans who wanted to chill out and catch a breather from the intense rugby action on the pitch.