La Derecha Diario Pumas 7s were crowned champions against France in the Hong Kong tournament.
The team led by Santiago Gómez Cora won 12 to 7 against the French and achieved its third consecutive title
Los Pumas 7s defeated France 12-7 on Sunday and were crowned champions of the Hong Kong Sevens, the fifth event of the World Rugby Sevens Series for the 2024-2025 season. With this new achievement, the Argentine team reached their third consecutive gold medal after previously triumphing in the stages of Vancouver (Canada) and Perth (Australia), thus adding the 12th title in their history in this competition.
Under the direction of Santiago Gómez Cora, the Argentine team set the pace of the match from the start, betting on an offensive strategy and territorial pressure against the French team. During the first half, Joaquín Pellandini managed to support in the opponent's in-goal, but referee Ben Connor disallowed the try. Shortly after, a defensive intervention by Marcos Moneta prevented France from opening the score, keeping it 0-0 until halftime.
In the second half, Santiago Álvarez opened the scoring with a powerful play near the in-goal. Minutes later, Moneta took the ball after a scrum in the middle of the field, surpassed the entire defense, and scored under the posts with a spectacular run. With Pellandini's conversion, the lead extended to 12-0. Towards the end, France managed to narrow the gap with a try by Gregoire Arfeuil, although it wasn't enough to turn the result around.
The road to the final:
The participation of Los Pumas began with victories against Ireland (35-7), the United States (52-5), and Fiji (35-7) in the group stage. In the quarterfinals for the gold, they faced the Irish again and ended up advancing with a tighter result (22-14). The next day, in the semifinals, they faced Australia, comfortably winning 31-7, and hours later they won the final against France by a hard-fought 12-7.
2025 Season of Los Pumas 7s:
So far this year, Los Pumas 7s defeated Australia 41-5 to win the Perth Sevens and subsequently prevailed 19-12 against South Africa in the final of the Vancouver Sevens. In tournaments prior to these victories, the team had finished in third place at the Dubai Sevens after defeating New Zealand 14-0 and in fifth place in Cape Town.
With this new title in Hong Kong, Argentina positions itself as the fifth most successful team in the history of the World Series with 12 titles, surpassing Samoa and leaving behind Australia, which has three fewer trophies. At the top of the historical ranking are New Zealand (69), Fiji (45), South Africa (43), and England (19).
All the Sevens victories in the World Circuit:
- Los Angeles 2004
- San Diego 2009
- Vancouver 2022
- Hamilton 2023
- Vancouver 2023
- London 2023
- Cape Town 2023
- Perth 2024
- Vancouver 2024
- Perth 2025
- Vancouver 2025
- Hong Kong 2025
Sevens Ranking:
After winning their third consecutive title, Argentina leads the world series ranking with 88 points, obtained thanks to the 16 added in Dubai, the 12 from Cape Town, and the 20 achieved in each of their championships in Perth, Vancouver, and Hong Kong. With Fiji (76), Spain (74), and South Africa (66) as their main pursuers, the World Series calendar still includes two more tournaments: the Singapore Sevens, to be held on April 5 and 6, and the Los Angeles Sevens, scheduled for May 3 and 4.
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