Hot favorites New Zealand powered through to the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Sevens on Saturday joined by South Africa, Fiji and England, who narrowly beat defending champions Samoa. But the second day of the three-day tournament also saw Scotland shocked by China and France could only manage a draw against Hong Kong in hot and humid conditions. New Zealand, who face Wales in the quarterfinals, stretched its record streak of match wins in the IRB Sevens World Series to 39 with its 47-7 victory over the United States. They can all but wrap up their eighth world title in nine years by winning here. England hit back after trailing to an early try by Samoa, scoring in the second half and holding out for the win. But the Samoans also join them in the knockout phase after finishing as one of the best two runners-up, along with Wales. England coach Ben Ryan was delighted to be one of the six group winners but unhappy about the seedings system, which sees England pitted against Samoa again in Sunday's quarters. South Africa, second in the world standings, 32 points behind New Zealand, who have a maximum 80, battled past Argentina to qualify for the latter stages, scoring after the hooter to seal a 19-14 win. Fiji beat Wales 15-0 to seal its berth in the last eight, where it will face Kenya. Australia battled back strongly against Tonga to qualify, winning 17-15 after trailing with just seconds to go. Kenya is through after winning all its games. Earlier, China provided the shock of the tournament, beating Scotland 19-12. In another surprise result, Hong Kong held France 21-21, with coach Rod McIntosh hailing it as one of their finest performances. Chiefs outplay Highlanders Waikato wing Lelia Masaga scored twice as the Chiefs outplayed Otago Highlanders 39-24 in an all-New Zealand Super 14 clash in Hamilton on Saturday. Masaga scored either side of halftime as the Chiefs piled on six tries to secure a bonus point and remain in the top half of the standings midway through the season. The Highlanders earned a consolation point for scoring four tries but remained stuck at the bottom without a single win from six matches. “We're pretty stoked with this win,” Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina said in a televised interview. “We had a bit of a lapse in the first half but we're pretty happy with the win. I thought our forwards played well tonight and we had a couple of moments of individual brilliance in the backs as well.” Auckland flyhalf Nick Evans, meanwhile, landed a drop goal seven minutes from time to guide the Blues to a 23-21 win over defending Super 14 champions the Bulls on Saturday. Evans, returning to the New Zealand franchise after two weeks out with concussion, also kicked two penalties and two conversions to help the Blues pinch victory despite the Bulls outscoring them three tries to two. __
