Hurdle ban spoils debut
Reggae Boyz captain Derek 'Bobby' Hurdle became the second player in the tournament to be cited by the commissioner for foul play - an incident which left a stain on the West Indies' debut.
Hurdle was suspended for one game following his team's 47-0 loss to Wales, joining Russian forward Murat Uanbayev as the only two players to run foul of the law since a citing commissioner was introduced for the first time at this year's Sevens.
The big, strapping back took the punishment in his stride as he took no part in the West Indies' 32-12 defeat against Russia. He said he was looking forward to the rest of the tournament after serving out his ban.
'I can only look forward to our next matches [in the Bowl competition] because I have already done my time. It's over. Of course I am disappointed,but these things happen,' he said.
Hurdle was punished for a late tackle on a Welsh player, earning the wrath of the citing commissioner after the challenge was missed by the referee.
'The touch judge and the referee didn't flag me for it, but when I saw it on video, it definitely looked like a late challenge. But I was in my stride and there was no way I could have stopped in time. It was just one of those things,' said Hurdle.
Teammate James Waters, who scored seven points against Russia with a try and a conversion, defended Hurdle, saying the punishment was 'a bit harsh'. 'The Welsh player got injured after the tackle. There have been a lot worse tackles but I guess it's the citing commissioner's job and he obviously knows what he's doing,' said Waters.
Waters earned the distinction of scoring the West Indies' first try in the tournament early in the second half against Russia. Daniel McGavern put more points on the board for the West Indies and the conversion by Waters took the final score to 31-12.
West Indies were also taught a lesson by Fiji on Friday, losing 47-0 in the tournament's curtain raiser. They finished the pool stage with three defeats and will be looking for their first victory in Hong Kong in today's Bowl quarter-finals.
