Sport | Rugby
Unfancied Wales seal rugby sevens World Cup glory in Dubai
Wales edged out Argentina for a famous victory in the Rugby World Cup Sevens final as a new name was etched on the Melrose Cup after a day of drama and upsets in Dubai.
- By Steve Hill, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:24 March 7, 2009
- Image Credit: Francois Nel/Gulf News
- Wales, who only qualified for the last eight as the second best second-placed side and who have never won an IRB World Series event, dug deep to down New Zealand and Samoa before edging past Argentina in a bruising final.
Dubai: Wales edged out Argentina for a famous victory in the Rugby World Cup Sevens final as a new name was etched on the Melrose Cup after a day of drama and upsets in Dubai.
The four leading contenders - holders Fiji, England, New Zealand and South Africa - were all sent crashing as the quarterfinals produced one shock after another.
Wales, who only qualified for the last eight as the second best second-placed side and who have never won an IRB World Series event, dug deep to down New Zealand and Samoa before edging past Argentina in a bruising final.
Paul John's side grabbed the lead with a dash to the corner by Richie Pugh before Argentina replied with a superb solo score from Martin Rodriguez, who sprinted from halfway to touch down wide on the left and then added a magnificent conversion for a 7-5 lead.
But it was Wales who turned around in front, Tal Selley also running in from distance after spotting a gap in the cover with Aled Thomas converting.
Midway through the second period, Argentina levelled proceedings, Gonzalo Comacho latching on to a crossfield kick for an unconverted try.
But with just over a minute remaining, Thomas burst over wide on the right for the match-winning try to bring the curtain down on an unforgettable day in front of a near capacity crowd.
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A key man earlier in the day for Wales was Tom Isaacs, who claimed the late try that sealed New Zealand's fate and also the crucial third score that wrapped things up against Samoa.
England were widely tipped for a first Melrose Cup win since 1993, but went down in the most dramatic way imaginable in the last eight against Samoa.
The islanders led 21-7 at the turnaround and then 26-19 as the hooter sounded. That was the signal for Samoa to kick the ball out of play, thinking the game would be over.
But referee Andrew Lees ordered the lineout to take place, and England recycled possession to gain a converted try under the posts for Josh Drauniniu. That took the match into sudden-death extra time, but Samoa showed greater composure under pressure and Simaika Mikaele's try saw them through, only for unheralded Wales to then claim another famous scalp.
Scotland's World Cup campaign ended on a high with a 21-17 defeat of Australia to win the Plate.
Andrew Turnbull touched down twice in the first half for Scotland, while Roddy Grant's fourth try of the tournament clinched the spoils.
A late try from Jacques Leitao gave Zimbabwe a hard-fought 17-14 win over Ireland in the Bowl final.
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