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Mathew Scott

Ben Young

Sevens rugby offered Bianca Dos Santos Silva a chance to escape the poverty of the favelas that fringe Sao Paulo.
Dos Santos Silva took it, and she ran, and she has not stopped running since.
“If you get a chance to leave the favelas you don’t pass it up,” the Brazilian star said.
She proved untouchable once again out wide, as she led her side to a 28-19 win over Scotland that lifted them into next season’s World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

There was a sublime solo try, and she gave Leila Dos Santos Silva a helping hand at the start of the run that put the result beyond doubt. Then there was time for a dance with her teammates before she paused to reflect on her personal journey.
“I was surrounded by poverty, but lucky, because the worst of it never really touched me,” she said. “But rugby opened doors for me. The Rugby for All community programme found me when I was young and showed me the way out.”




Dos Santos Silva started playing at 14 against the boys in Sao Paulo.
“They played me on the wing and they could never touch me,” she said. “I was just too quick. They would throw me the ball and I would run around everyone.”
It was the same in Hong Kong this week, and Bianca Dos Santos Silva racked up the tries and used her speed to break up Brazil’s opponents across the two days of the women’s tournament.




Part of the group of players Brazil selected in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when the sport made its debut at the games, she was cut from the final squad. The hosts finished ninth out of the 12 teams playing, but finished on some sort of high when they demolished Japan 33-5 in their last match.
“Being part of that group should me how far rugby could take me, even though I didn’t make the final squad,” she said.
“It was huge for us to show Brazil that we can get out there, and we can play rugby, and it was huge for us to show the world that we can compete against teams who have played the game a lot longer than us.”
Brazil came to Hong Kong with one mission – to regain their status as a core team in the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series. Dos Santos Silva helped them get that job done.
“We worked really hard to play our way into the final and once we made it we never thought we would lose,” she said.
As it happened: Hong Kong Sevens 2019 live blog day one
Despite her confidence, Brazil’s victory was something of a surprise against a favoured Scotland team who had beaten top seeds Japan in the semi-finals.
Reuben Samuel, their New Zealand-born coach, said the encounter, which featured multiple lead changes, had been “absolutely nerve-wracking”.
“I would rather we didn’t win in that fashion, it’s the reason I’m growing all of these grey hairs,” Reuben said. “But I’m so proud of our girls. We trained so hard and I told them to just believe in the training, trust the process and the results will come and today, it finally did.”
The South American’s joy was in stark contrast to the utter devastation felt by their opponents, who put in what coach Scott Forest called “our worst performance by far”.
Forest believes his team were overwhelmed by the enormity of the occasion and the prize that lay at the end of it.
“We did things in that final that I’ve never seen us do before, and in a negative way,” Forest said.

“It’s hard to admit, but I think the pressure of playing in a final on such a big stage got to us. For many of the girls that’s the biggest crowd they’ve ever played in front of, and Hong Kong in itself has got something different so there’s a little bit of extra pressure.
“But there’s no doubt this will be a great learning experience for us.”
The Scotland coach dismissed suggestions his team had underestimated the Brazilians, after beating Japan in a game he had previously referred to as “the real finals”.
“We gave Brazil the same respect that we gave everyone else, we studied their film and understood what their strengths and weaknesses were,” he said.
“The worst thing is they didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. I still believe if we had played our game, and played it well, we would have won easily.
“Credit to Brazil, they came out and executed their game very well. They made less mistakes than us and that’s why they won the game.”


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Hong Kong Sevens

From the slums of Sao Paulo to the glamour of the World Sevens Series, Brazilian Bianca Dos Santos Silva is running her way to the top

Captain Raquel Kocchann flexing after her team’s amazing victory. 05APR19 R7 Photo : Benjamin Young

Brazil wins the Women's finals on the first day of HK Sevens 2019 at Hong Kong Stadium. 05APR19 R7 SCMP / Edmond So

Bianca Dos Santos Silva breaks clear of the Scottish defence during the women's final. Photo: Winson Wong

As it happened: Hong Kong Sevens 2019 live blog day one -- great start for HK's men as they book their spot in the quarter-finals

Hong Kong Sevens 2019: live scores, schedule and results from Hong Kong Stadium

Fiji beat Australia 31-12. Photo: Wong Wing Chun

Hong Kong Sevens: ‘40 teams are already a burden, can we handle 12 more?’ – HKRU wary of staging four events

New Zealand Black Fern Sevens celebrate on the podium after their 17-7 gold final victory over Canada in the Women's Sevens Rugby Canada tournament at Westhills Stadium in Langford, BC, Canada, May 28, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Don MacKinnon

Japan qualified for the World Series from last year’s qualifier in Hong Kong. Photo: Winson Wong

Monaghan hails ‘special’ Hong Kong women after historic performance ends in defeat against Japan

A Japanese player (red) is tackled by Hong Kong players (blue) during the World Rugby Women's Sevens quarter finals at Hong Kong Stadium during the HK Sevens 2019. 05APR19 R7 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Jess Ho.

Coach Iain Monaghan.

Hong Kong women’s players Sham Wai-sum and Melody Li sign autographs for fans on the first day of the Sevens at Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: Jonathan Wong

World Cup winner Jason ‘Funbus’ Leonard says willingness of rugby legends to take to pitch to tackle cancer ‘is beauty of the sport’

Jason ‘Funbus’ Leonard was notorious for enjoy a beer after the game. He took to the field with other rugby legends to tackle cancer. Photos: August Liu/Clique Visua

Rowan Varty and othe rRugby Legends tackle cancer Charity game, part of the GFI HKFC Rugby Tens in Hong Kong Football Club, Hong Kong, China, on 4 April 2019. Photo by August Liu/Clique Visuals

Rugby legends, including Jim Hamilton, Andy Goode and Waisale Serevi, played at the rugby 10s to tackle cancer

Sport

Hong Kong

Rugby

HK Sevens


Winger untouchable as Brazil win qualifier and secure return to women’s series next season



Bianca Dos Santos Silva untouchable as Brazil win qualifier and secure return to women’s series next season.
