Scots lose out in last eight after stunning fightback

Scotland’s hopes at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco were ended at the quarter-final stage by a 36-5 defeat by South Africa.

A late try from Alec Coombes got Scotland on the scoreboard at AT&T Park, but it was not enough to overcome the World Sevens Series champions.

John Dalziel’s side were unable to replicate the dramatic comeback against Kenya that had powered them into the last eight.

The Scots had fought back from 26-0 down against Kenya to complete a superb comeback, with Jamie Farndale scoring the match-winning try in the last action of the game.

Kenya, who have reached the semi-finals in the last two events, struggled after losing two players to yellow cards, opening the door for a flurry of tries from Scotland before the dramatic finale.

England clinched a thrilling victory in extra time against the US to secure a spot in the semifinals.

Simon Amor’s side began strongly, with two tries from Dan Norton powering them to a 12-7 lead at half-time.

But the hosts rallied after the break to level the game at 19-19 to force the extra time.

In the end it was an outstanding cross-kick from Tom Mitchell that proved crucial, with the ball picked up by Phil Burgess for the golden try.

England’s 24-19 win booked them a meeting with top seeds South Africa in the final four.

The other quarter-finals saw Fiji claim a convincing 43-7 win against Argentina, while defending champions New Zealand beat France 12-7 despite being forced to play the first half with six players due to yellow cards.