Argentina men, NZ women start well at Sydney Rugby Sevens

SYDNEY (AP) — Argentina’s men and New Zealand’s women carried their recent winning form into the first day of the Sydney Rugby Sevens tournament on Friday.

New Zealand and Argentina won their respective titles at the Hamilton, New Zealand leg of the World Sevens Series last weekend.

The New Zealand women won both of their matches on the first day of the three-day Sydney tournament, beating Papua New Guinea 48-0 and France 29-14.

Australia, second behind New Zealand in the World Series standings, beat Brazil 28-12 and Spain 46-0. The United States — beaten finalists in Hamilton — defeated Canada 14-12 before losing to Fiji 17-14.

Argentina faced a sterner test in its only group match in the men’s draw Friday, relying on a late try to Marcos Maneta to beat Canada 24-19. Rodrigo Isgro scored two tries as Argentina rallied from a 19-5 deficit early in the second half.

World series leader New Zealand beat Uruguay 45-7 in its only match while Olympic champion Fiji beat Tonga 52-7. Dietrich Roache and Henry Paterson scored tries for Australia in its 12-7 win over Britain.

The tournament continues Saturday with the remaining group matches and quarterfinals. The semifinals and final will be played Sunday.

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