Fiji Favourites to Win Ablitt Cup at Singapore Cricket Club Int. Rugby Sevens

Daveta from Fiji won all three of its Ablitt Cup Pool matches in the 70th Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Sevens on Saturday.

The six-time champions were determined not to repeat last year’s Ablitt Cup campaign when they suffered a shock early exit after losses to England Academy and Sunnybank of Australia in the pool stages, despite fielding a team with several Rio Olympics champions.

This year’s team, a mix of veterans and newcomers from various villages in the South Pacific nation, won Pool A easily with three wins out of three, scoring 16 tries in total and conceding just one. The Fijian side crushed Swedish Vikings 42-0 in their opening Pool match, swept aside Cottesloe 43-0 and ended the day by beating Hong Kong Dragons 17-5.

“We are relieved to beat Hong Kong as we believed that they are the danger team in this tournament,” said captain Sakiusa Gavidi, a regular in the Daveta team since 2010. “We ended on a high note today but we will have to be at our best in the knock-out stages. We cannot rule out teams like France who has some quick and physical players too.”

Over in Pool B, the France Development Team, which finished third last year, also ended the day undefeated. The French side opened their campaign with a 26-0 win over Palmyra from Perth Australia before claiming victory over host side Singapore Cricket Club 21-14. In the deciding Pool B match, France Development Team overcame Tribe 7 from Australia 14-12 in a thrilling match to set up a quarterfinal clash with Pool C winners Causarina Cougars.

“Our aim today was to top our Pool and the team worked very hard to win all three matches,” said captain Hecquet Thomas. “Tomorrow’s first match (against Casuarina Cougars) will be important. If we can recover well tonight and win this quarterfinal match, I think we will go all the way to the Final. Fiji is the obvious favourite in this tournament but we are here to win the Ablitt Cup too. We might not be the biggest team but if we work well as a team, anything is possible in Sevens rugby.”

Australian side Casuarina was the third team to finish the day undefeated after winning Pool C with wins over Tamariva (26-14), East Arnhem (43-7) and Singapore Barbarians (53-5).

In the other quarterfinals, Pool C runner-up Tamariva will meet Pool A winner Daveta, Tribe 7 is up against Swedish Vikings and Pool A runner-up Hong Kong Dragons faces Palmyra.

The final rounds of the Ablitt Cup will be played from 16:37 with the Final scheduled for 17:52.

Tickets were still available, at press time, with an adult pass costing S$30 on the door, while under-18s and full-time National Servicemen pay just S$10. All tickets exclude a S$1 booking fee.

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