MOSCOW, June 28 (R-Sport) – Samoa kicked off the Rugby World Cup Sevens men’s competition in Moscow on Friday with a 21-14 win over a plucky Zimbabwean side.
The World Cup is the first major rugby tournament to be held in Russia, and began in baking heat at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium.
The Samoans, semifinalists at the last World Cup in 2009, started slowly against Zimbabwe and went in 14-7 down after tries from the African side’s Daniel Hondo and Gardener Nechironga.
Two early second-half tries from Afa Aiono and Faatoina Autagavaia put the Samoans back in the driving seat and they closed out the match in the face of persistent Zimbabwean resistance.
Reupena Levasa kicked six points for Samoa from conversions.
"Some of the players haven't played sevens for a year, so they are just starting to get the feeling," Samoa coach Stephen Betham said. "It is our first game together as a team, some of the players were in 15s, so it was a wake up call for them and tomorrow we have two more games."
The Samoans are top of Pool C, but Kenya and the Philippines, the other two teams in the pool, play next. Only pool winners are guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals.
The World Cup runs through Sunday and is the last edition of the tournament before sevens makes its Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Updated with Samoa coach quote
