Sakura Sevens See Mixed Results as Hong Kong SVNS Celebrate 50 Years
The Sakura Sevens kicked off the three-leg HSBC SVNS World Championship in winning fashion with a 12 – 5 victory over Pool A rivals Fiji in front of a packed and boisterous crowd at Kai Tak Sports Park. It was a great way to start the historic 50th year of the Hong Kong SVNS, arguably the most famous and important tournament on the global sevens calendar.
In their next match, they came up against sevens heavyweights New Zealand, a side stacked with speed, size, and sevens sizzle. In what was a tough outing for the girls from Japan, they put up a solid fight, only to go down 7 – 38 against a Kiwi side that would go on to win the tournament.
Putting the disappointment of their earlier loss behind them, Japan faced Brazil, the emerging South American force in the sevens format. Spurred on from being on the receiving end of a Black Ferns Sevens masterclass, the Sakura Sevens put in a masterclass of their own, downing the plucky South Americans, 34 – 7. With two pool victories and one defeat, Japan progressed to the Cup Quarter Final where they were to face and in-form France who had progressed through Pool C undefeated.
France started the match strongly, scoring two first half tries while keeping Japan scoreless. The second half saw the Sakura Fifteen finally find their rhythm as they ran in two tries of their own. However, their slow start was to prove their undoing with France taking the match 12 – 22.
This set the scene for their final match of the tournament, the Fifth-Place Playoff against the USA. Once again, the Sakura Sevens suffered as a result of a slow start, going into half time with a 10-point deficit for a 7-17 scoreline. Japan put in a solid second half to score an additional two tries, but once again, it was too little, too late, with Japan falling to the USA 19-24.
Japan’s sixth place finish sees them sitting in the middle of the World Championship standings with two more legs to play. The 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams will now take a well-earned month off before reassembling ahead of the next leg in Valladolid, Spain on the weekend of May 29-31. They then face each other again the following weekend for the final leg in Bordeaux, France on the weekend of June 5-7.
Commenting at the conclusion of the tournament, Sakura Sevens Captain Michiyo Suda said:
“Thank you to our fans for always supporting the Sakura Sevens. The support we felt inside the stadium gave us tremendous strength, with the chants of ‘Japan’ coming from the stands spurring us on time and time again. Although we managed to secure a victory in true Sakura Sevens style in our opening match, it was frustrating that we were unable to take this winning style into all our matches. Momentum can shift with a single pass or a simple mistake, so we will work hard to become a team that has the potential to secure victory in any match. In the remaining two tournaments, we will focus on every single play and go all out for victory as a team. We count on your continued support!”