Boks top scorers on Day One

Big guns fire at Hong Kong Sevens

South Africa recorded the biggest victory on the opening day of the Hong Kong Sevens, the fifth leg of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens circuit, on Friday.

The South Africans defeated minnows Thailand 63-0, with speedster Fabian Juries grabbing four of his country's nine tries to put him one ahead of England's Ben Gollings as the top try-scorer on the IRB circuit this season.

It was a day for the big guns to fire their warning salvos in the biggest tournament on the 2003/04 Sevens.

New Zealand, the current leaders and three-time champions of the IRB Sevens, started the day with a 48-0 thumping of Japan. The Kiwis scored eight tries - one less than South Africa, but converted just four of them.

England, the defending champions in Hong Kong, launched their quest for a hat-trick of Hong Kong Sevens
crowns with a 49-0 win over China, scoring seven tries and converting all seven.

Joe Lydon, the England coach, admitted there was plenty of room for improvement following his side's opening Pool B match at a rain-swept Hong Kong Stadium. "We weren't as clinical as we would have liked but it wasn't too bad for a first-up performance," he said.

"There's always the chance of slipping on a banana skin in a tournament like this so we just wanted to make sure that we got the first game out of the way without any problems."

The Kiwis also admitted that there is room for improvement in their game. But Kiwi coach Gordon Tietjens said he was pleased with the way his side dealt with a wet playing surface and slippery ball.

"We took our chances and we adapted to the conditions well," Tietjens said. "When it's as wet as this, ball retention is very important and we did that very well tonight," he added.

The New Zealanders took the precaution of resting evergreen sevens specialist Eric Rush, the remarkable 39-year-old Kiwi captain who is playing in Hong Kong for the 15th time.

"He's had a minor leg injury this week but he's fit to play," Tietjens said. "We just thought it was safer to give him the night off because we've got a lot of rugby still to play."

In other matches involving fancied teams Fiji got the better of Portugal, beating them 35-0 - scoring five converted tries in the process.

Argentina, first-time winners in the previous IRB tournament in Los Angeles, also got off to a rousing start. They beat Singapore - host of next week's sixth leg - 48-0. As was the case with the Kiwis, the Pumas scored eight tries, but converted just four.

And Samoa, the other fancied side - and former winners in Hong Kong, overpowered Chinese Taipei 38-0, scoring six tries and nailing four conversions.

Among the minnows, Kenya looked the most impressive as they beat Cook Islands 19-0, scoring three tries to nil.

The hosts, Hong Kong, emerged to a rapturous welcome from the crowd, but they were beaten 21-0 by Canada.

Korea put up a great effort against France in the penultimate match of the first day as they go down 19-7 to France.

Australia struggle to overcome Namibia's physical defence, but end up 31-12 winners in the final game of the day.

Results from Day One:
Game 1: New Zealand 48 Japan 0
Game 2: England 49 China 0
Game 3: South Africa 63 Thailand 0
Game 4: Fiji 35 Portugal 0
Game 5: Argentina 48 Singapore 0
Game 6: Samoa 38 Chinese Taipei 0
Game 7: Italy 5 USA 10
Game 8: Georgia 0 Scotland 26
Game 9: Kenya 19 Cook Islands 0
Game 10: Canada 21 Hong Kong 0
Game 11: France 19 Korea 7
Game 12: Australia 31 Namibia 12

Day Two fixtures:
(All kick-off times GMT)
Game 13: Italy v Japan, 02.46
Game 14: Georgia v China, 03.08
Game 15: Kenya v Thailand, 03.30
Game 16: Canada v Portugal, 03.52
Game 17: France v Singapore, 04.14
Game 18: Australia v Chinese Taipei, 04.36
Game 19: New Zealand v USA, 04.58
Game 20: England v Scotland, 05.20
Game 21: South Africa v Cook Islands, 05.42
Game 22: Fiji v Hong Kong, 06.04
Game 23: Argentina v Korea, 06.26
Game 24: Samoa v Namibia, 06.48
Game 25: USA v Japan, 07.10
Game 26: Scotland v China, 07.32
Game 27: Cook Islands v Thailand, 07.54
Game 28: Hong Kong v Portugal, 08.16
Game 29: Korea v Singapore, 08.38
Game 30: Namibia v Chinese Taipei, 09.00
Game 31: New Zealand v Italy, 09.22
Game 32: England v Georgia, 09.44
Game 33: South Africa v Kenya, 10.06
Game 34: Fiji v Canada, 10.28
Game 35: Argentina v France, 10.50
Game 36: Samoa v Australia, 11.12

Day Three fixtures:
Game 37: Bowl quarter-final, 01.46
Game 38: Bowl quarter-final, 02.08
Game 39: Bowl quarter-final, 02.30
Game 40: Bowl quarter-final, 02.52
Game 41: Plate quarter-final, 03.14
Game 42: Plate quarter-final, 03.36
Game 43: Plate quarter-final, 03.58
Game 44: Plate quarter-final, 04.20
Game 45: Cup quarter-final, 05.15
Game 46: Cup quarter-final, 05.37
Game 47: Cup quarter-final, 05.59
Game 48: Cup quarter-final, 06.21
Game 49: Bowl semi-final, 06.43
Game 50: Bowl semi-final, 07.05
Game 51: Plate semi-final, 07.27
Game 52: Plate semi-final, 07.49
Game 53: Cup semi-final, 08.11
Game 54: Cup semi-final, 08.33
Game 55: Bowl Final, 09.17
Game 56: Plate Final, 09.51
Game 57: Cup Final, 10.31