World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023: South Africa Women, Tonga Men crowned inaugural champions

• South Africa’s women beat Belgium to take a step closer to a core position in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.
• Tonga’s men grab the cup title from Germany in a pulsating final and lead the race for a four-team play-off spot at the HSBC London Sevens.
• The final of the Challenger series will take place on the 28th-30th. April at the Marktter Stadium in Stellenbosch.
• Chinese women and Hong Kong Chinese men won bronze from Poland and Belgium.
• The winner of the two-round women’s competition on aggregate points, which secures entry to the Sevens World Series.
• The winner of the men’s competition on aggregate points after the second event will qualify for a four-team play-off at the HSBC London Sevens in May, with the winner achieving the coveted Sevens World Series 2024 status.

South Africa’s women and Tonga’s men took a step closer to promotion by winning the opening tournament of the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series on Saturday at Marktter Stadium.

After three days of energy in Stellenbosch, hosts South Africa dug deep to produce an impressive performance in the women’s final. He came from behind to beat Poland 17-10 in front of his home fans.

In the men’s final, the attacking firepower of the Tongas proved too strong for Germany as they scored four tries in a 26-14 victory in the Cup final.

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With one tournament remaining in the Challenger Series, attention now turns to the second event, which will take place on the 28th-30th. April, when the men’s and women’s co-champions are decided.

WOMEN’S THREE DAY RECAP:

Hosts South Africa scored the only try of the first semi-final to book their place in the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023 Cup final as Simamkele Namba crossed the whitewash to beat China 5-0.

In the other women’s final four decider, Belgium defeated a confident Polish team en route to their first Challenger Series final. Trailing 14-5 at halftime against the 2022 finalists, Belgium managed to find another gear in the second half to beat their European rivals 24-19.

In the Cup final, Belgium scored two quick tries in the opening four minutes against South Africa, who managed to get one back through Ayanda Malinga’s 5-10 at half-time. But with home field advantage and passionate fans behind them, South Africa dug deep in the second half and scored twice to win the hard-fought Challenger Series title.

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South Africa captain Mathrin Simmers said: I am very pleased with the performance of the girls. We started off a little slow, but we got it right at the end. We fell behind at halftime, but I told them to stick to the processes, relax and focus on what we needed to do and stay in the moment.

We have a lot of confidence going into the second leg of the tournament, but for us it’s just about going back to zero and starting all over again. Go through all the processes and systems we do in practice and move on to the next part of the tournament.

In the bronze medal final, China narrowly beat Poland 14-10, while the Czech Republic beat Thailand 34-10 in the fifth-place final. Madagascar narrowly defeated Colombia 14-12 in the seventh-place match and Papua New Guinea beat Paraguay 10-5 in the 11 series.^th place in the playoffs.

The ultimate prize for the tournament winners of the women’s competition, decided by aggregate points from the two events, is progression to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2024 as the 12th final team.

MEN’S THREE DAY REVIEW:

Two tries from Bastian van der Bosch helped Germany become the first nation to reach the men’s final at this year’s World Rugby Sevens Challenger. Belgium’s Martin Marenne’s try in the second half was not enough for the Belgians as they lost 19-5 to the Germans.

Tonga secured their place in the men’s final by defeating Hong Kong China 33-0 in the men’s second semi-final. Hong Kong China were penalized for their lack of discipline, resulting in two yellow cards, giving Tonga the upper hand throughout the match.

Later in the day, Belgium and Hong Kong China went head-to-head in a thrilling men’s bronze medal match that went into overtime with both teams scoring 21 points at full time. Hong Kong Chinas Max Denmark’s golden point attempt in the second half of overtime separated the teams and gave the Asian team the win.

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In the men’s final, Tonga ran in four tries against Germany to become champions in the opening match of the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023. Soni Asi, John Tapueluelu, Kyren Taumoefolau and Tevita Manukea all scored as the Tongans won 26-14. beat Germany.

Reflecting on their historic victory, Tonga captain Sione Tupou stated that this win means the world to us. This is the reward for all the hardships we have experienced. This victory is for the future generation of Tonga.

The second week of the Challenger series will be difficult for us because now everyone is coming after the champions, but we are confident in the team we have and the positive spirit we carry.

In the fifth-place final, Uganda beat Italy 19-15, while Chile beat Brazil 41-0 for seventh, Zimbabwe beat Papua New Guinea 40-17 for ninth, and Jamaica lost to Korea 12-5 in 11-overs.^th place in the final.

The winner of the men’s event, which will also be decided by the combined points of the two events, will take part in a four-team play-off at the HSBC London Sevens in May together from 12-14. with the ranked teams after 10 HSBC rounds. World Rugby Sevens Series 2023. The winner of the play-offs will achieve the coveted Sevens World Series 2024 status.

POOLS CONFIRMED FOR ANOTHER TOURNAMENT

The second and final event of the tournament is scheduled for 28-30 April 2023 at the same venue in Stellenbosch, and the pools have been confirmed.

Inaugural tournament winners South Africa Women will be looking for back-to-back gold and coveted qualification to the Sevens World Series in 2024. They top the women’s Pool D, joined by Thailand, Madagascar and Paraguay.

First-leg finalists Belgium have been drawn with the Czech Republic, Colombia and Papua New Guinea in Group E, while Group F features China, Poland, Hong Kong China and Mexico.

In the men’s competition, the opening tournament champion Tonga and Italy, Chile and Jamaica are united in Pool A.

Tournament opener Germany will face Uganda, Brazil and Korea in Group B, while in Group B, Hong Kong, China, Belgium, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals.