The Manu Samoa 7s have secured a semifinal spot at the Singapore 7s after a 22-7 win over Uruguay.
Samoa took some time to warm up and we saw a first half of unforced errors by both teams.
This was reflected on the score board where Samoa only led by 7-0 at halftime with one try to the big man, Taunuu Niulevaea.
Uruguay hit back first after halftime to level the score at 7-7 with five minutes to go.
Samoa finally regrouped and settled down to hold on to 90% of possession in the second half.
The boys in blue also won all their kickoffs, and this led to a fantastic three tries in three minutes to Paul Scanlan, Tuna Tuitama and Vaafauese Apelu-Maliko in that order.
Samoa’s Vaafauese Apelu-Maliko is currently the top try scorer of the World 7s Series with 35 tries, while Paul Scanlan is 5th with 31 tries.
Samoa will now face Argentina in the semifinal after the Pumas beat the Aussies by 29-12 in the second quarterfinal.
It’s an even 2 for 2 between Samoa and Argentina this season. Samoa beat Atgentina in Hong Kong 1 and Cape Town, while Argentina beat Samoa in LA and Hong Kong 2.
Fiji will meet New Zealand in the other semifinal.
With two more legs in the 2022/23 season after Singapore, New Zealand look to be too far ahead to catch.
HSBC World Rugby 7s Series table
Out of the current top 8 teams, South Africa and Ireland did not make the quarterfinals. Uruguay and Great Britain advanced instead from the pool stages.
USA are having a tough tournament, having lost to Uruguay in the pool stages and also losing the 9th place QF to Spain.
