DHL Western Province finished fourth at the inaugural Limerick World Club Sevens, having gone down to the Auckland Blues in Sunday’s third/fourth-place play-off at Thomond Park.
DHL WP began Day Two as one of just two unbeaten teams in the competition and they moved into the Cup semifinals with a deserved 19-5 win over New York in the early afternoon.
However, the Vancouver Bears – who had earlier accounted for the Blue Bulls in the quarterfinals – upset DHL WP in the day’s second semifinal, winning 26-19 and condemning Province to the third/fourth-place play-off.
The Auckland Blues ran into an early 7-0 lead, with Province equalising at 7-7, before the Men from New Zealand ran into a 21-7 half-time lead.
To their credit, DHL WP outscored their opponents in the second half but it was not enough to see the brave Men from Cape Town into what would have been a deserved third-place finish.
Province will now travel to London to compete in the second-ever World Club 7s at Twickenham, where they have been drawn into Pool A which will see them come up against RC Enisei (Siberia), New York (America) and Gloucester Rugby (England).
* Meanwhile, Daveta from Fiji claimed the first-ever Limerick Sevens title on Sunday as they overcame the Vancouver Bears – who, of course, beat DHL WP in the semifinals – and were presented with the specially commissioned trophy designed by Andrew Clancy.
The Fijian side, who came out third in their pool and ranked as the seventh seeds today, overcame both Munster and Auckland before taking on Vancouver in the final, which they won with a comprehensive scoreline of 36-12.
Speaking about the first-ever Club Sevens event in Limerick, Terry Burwell, Tournament Director, commented: “The Limerick World Club 7s has been a great success and the standard of rugby on show in Thomond Park has been fantastic.
“I’d like to thank Limerick City for embracing the tournament and all the travelling teams and fans and we’re already looking forward to next year’s event.”
DHL WESTERN PROVINCE’S RESULTS FROM THE LIMERICK 7s:
Day One (Pool B action):
DHL Western Province 12 Stade Français (Fra) 0
DHL Western Province 26 NSW Waratahs (Aus) 19
DHL Western Province 15 Vancouver Bears (Can) 0
Day Two (Cup knockouts):
Quarterfinals: DHL Western Province 19 New York 5 (USA)
Semifinals: DHL Western Province 19 Vancouver Bears (Can) 26
Third/fourth-place Play-off: DHL Western Province 14 Auckland Blues (NZ) 26
The 2014 DHL Western Province Sevens team: 1. Ruan Mostert (Durb-Bell – captain), 2. Earl Johnson (Kuilsriver), 3. Danie Roux (False Bay), 4. Jason Kriel (Durb-Bell), 5. Josh Bassingthwaighte (Maties), 6. Armien Bailey (Helderberg), 7. Anthony Taylor (Young Stars), 8. Ashwill Peters (Sir Lowrians), 9. Frederick Muller (UWC), 10. Errol Jaggers (Helderberg), 11. Iewan Bartels (Hamilton’s), 12. Earl Rose (Sir Lowrians).
Management: Ricky Petersen (Coach), Bobby Joubert (Manager), Riefaat Jappie (Trainer), Peter Jooste (Executive member).
* VISIT THE OFFICIAL WORLD CLUB SEVENS WEBSITE FOR NEXT WEEK’S FIXTURES.
