Vancouver SVNS - Pumas claw NZ in Cup Final
DAY THREE WRAP: We bring you all the Day Three men's action from BC Place, Vancouver – the fourth round of HSBC SVNS.
Cup Final
Argentina 36 - 12 New Zealand
Ladies and gentlemen, we have made it! The grand finale got underway with a magical start to New Zealand forcing a turnover deep in Argentinean territory to score the first try from a pass to the win.
A second try straight came off the kick-off to hand the All Blacks a powerful lead to the match. Los Pumas would pull together to show why they're at the top of this series to claw back two tries of their own to cap off a frantic first half of SVNS finals rugby.
Form would prevail in the second half of the match as Los Pumas were able to make some big-time plays that New Zealand had no answer to, running away with the championship scoring four tries to none in the second half notably with Matias Osadczuk scoring a hat-trick for his team.
It's another masterclass from this special Argentinean squad who take the gold, go 18 games undefeated in Vancouver and make it a three-peat in the series.
Third-place play-off
USA 12 - 42 France
Important log points were on offer for both teams in this match as the USA got the upper hand after Antoine Dupont was yellow-carded for a pass interference.
They made good use of the powerplay to draw ahead with two tries early on. Dupont would make up for his indiscretion to come back onto the field and set up two French tries that would put them ahead going into the second half.
His expertise and influence on the field would ensure France's victory over the Eagles as Les Bleus wrapped up the game with four tries to none in the second half to bag themselves the bronze medal in this tournament.
Cup Semifinals
USA 19 - 35 Argentina
It's a match-up between two teams who have shown their resilience in the tournament to make it a mouth-watering encounter. Los Pumas meant business from the get go scoring two tries before the high-flying Perry Baker would get one back for the USA. The second half would continue to go Argentina's way as they proved to be more of a clinical outfit to their American counterparts as they finished this match with five tries to three having secured their spot in the final match of the tournament.
New Zealand 28 - 26 France
It's a game of flair versus class in this clash between France and New Zealand. A high-quality performance saw both teams run in two tries with the balance of the game still in hand going into the second half. The pace of Rokolisoa spurred New Zealand on with a couple of linebreaks resulting in two tries for his team. The French needed something special which brought Antoine Dupont onto the field to even up the odds. It would be all too little too late for the French as both teams got four tries in this match. However an unconverted try would be the difference to New Zealand booking their ticket to the Final showdown with Argentina.`
Fifth-place play-off
Fiji 19 - 24 Ireland
The Fijians had the Irish rattled from the start scoring a try right from the very first kick-off of the match. It didn't long for Ireland to compose themselves and take the lead with a brace of tries from Terry Kennedy. It would be deja vu at the start of the second half with Fiji scoring a second try off the kick-off, but they still trailed by a converted try.
Fiji would continue to persevere and tie up the match to take the game into extra time but fall short as Ireland ended up having more gas left in the tank to score the golden point and take the fifth-place finish.
Seventh-place play-off
Samoa 14 - 19 Great Britain
Great Britain enjoyed all the possession in the first half often getting driven back on the attack by the Samoan defence, but they went into the second half with two tries to none with the Samoans having their work cut out for them to get back into the match.
The Samoans dug deep and with a bit of luck were able to tie up the scoreboard and take the game into extra-time. It didn't long after the kick-off for Great Britain to break the line and race to the corner of the tryline in sudden death to secure their seventh-place position.
Ninth-place play-off
South Africa 24 - 7 Australia
The BlizBoks got off to a flying start against the men down under having scored three tries to One in the first half of the game. Some strong tackling from Selwyn Davids and an 80m solo try from Shilton van Wyk made all the difference as the South Africans started the second half in a commanding position. A fourth try to South Africa and a yellow card to Australia would be the deciding factor as the winners of the Dubai series finished the match in ninth position.
Eleventh-place play-off
Canada 12 - 17 Spain
Canada started the game well with an early try to give the home crowd something to cheer in the morning of Day Three. Spain immediately responded well with a dazzling kick-pass that put them in to score in the corner to keep the game neck and neck going into the second half.
Jack Carson would be the difference in keeping his side in this match with a try-assist and try of his own to keep the crowd glued to their seats. The second half would be a lot more frantic than the first with errors settling in for both teams with neither being able to capitalize as the scores remained all square taking the game into extra time. It would end in heartbreak for the home side with both teams out on their feet as Spain found a way to close out the game and take 11th place.