FIVE nation strengths Ireland and Scotland fell victim to a round of upsets in the Plate quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Sevens Tournament at the Government Stadium yesterday.
The Northern Hemisphere teams were two of the favourites to contest the Cup competition, but they were relegated to the plate division after losing a game apiece in the round-robin pool games on Saturday.
Both sides were knocked out of contention in their opening games of day two, as the US Eagles beat Ireland 14-12 and a fleet-footed Japanese side accounted for Scotland 26-12.
In the closer game of the two, Ireland were pushed over the edge by a stronger, faster American unit, who later lost to Korea 26-21 in the Plate final.
The Eagles, and in particular powerful forward Richard Tardits (who scored two tries) proved that not all big men are slow and static.
Irish captain Denis McBride put the loss down to differing playing seasons, not connecting early enough and the Eagles size and speed.
''Some sides have quick guys and some sides have big guys - but they had big, quick guys,'' McBride said.
