USA, Japan and Guyana Underline Sevens' Olympic Appeal in Vegas

New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and England all topped their groups on day one at the USA Sevens in Las Vegas, which also produced fine performances for USA, Japan and Guyana.

The Japanese beat the defending champions Argentina 7-0 early on and Guyana leaked a late try against France but still scored a fine 12-12 draw to underline Sevens' global appeal looking ahead to the 2016 Olympic Games.

Hosts USA lost by only two points against last weekend's Cup winners Fiji, and then finished the day with victory over North American rivals Canada to send the generous crowd of over 16,000 home happy.

Cup quarter finals:
New Zealand v South Africa
Fiji v Australia
Samoa v Wales
England v Kenya

Samoan flyer Mikaele Pesamino also grabbed the headlines by becoming the first player for over four years to score five tries in a single 14-minute match, against Chile. Pesamino also scored a fine hat trick against Scotland to stand well clear at the top of the try scorers list with eight.

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Rights-free photos are available for download and use, as well as audio with Tournament Director Dan Lyle, USA Rugby boss Nigel Melville, USA Sevens coach Al Caravelli and reigning World Series winning coach, Paul Treu of South Africa.

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All statistical analysis provided by HourGlass Vision

Further information:

Seb Lauzier, IRB Sevens, seb.lauzier@irb.com