Rugby: SCC 7s favourites progress to knockout round

Rugby: SCC 7s favourites progress to knockout round

There were plenty of thrills but few upsets on day two of the Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Sevens (SCC 7s) tournament at the Padang on Saturday.

Two-time defending champions Daveta and key rivals Asia Pacific Dragons won all their remaining pool matches comfortably.

They thus advanced to the knockout round, setting the stage for what promises to be a mouth-watering final day of action on Sunday.

Daveta, who started their title defence in sluggish fashion in their first Pool D game against Cottesloe on Friday, beat SCC 26-0 and Casuarina Cougars 24-7.

Said their coach Jone Ratu: "I'm happy that we've won our games, but I know that we can improve. Just some very basic things - make it more alive, cut down on our penalties.

"We know that some of the bigger teams are playing well, but we're just concentrating on our game."

The Fijian team are bidding to become only the second team in the event's 66-year history to win the Ablitt Cup for three consecutive years.

Asia Pacific Dragons safely negotiated Pool C after beating Impala 40-7 and Northland 43-0.

Despite the resounding wins, coach Sakaraia Labalaba said: "We don't see any team as an easy team to defeat. We take each team as if it's our final game. We play each game as our final."

In the Schools and Colleges competition, Raffles Institution topped Tanglin Trust School 14-5 in the Under-19 semi-finals, and faced United World College Dover for the Sithawalla Cup on Sunday.

UWC Dover defeated Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) 10-5 in the other semi-final.


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