Ireland took the lead early on against Samoa but Brian Tuohy’s try was as good as it got in the opening game of the Sevens World Cup against Samoa in Dubai.
The islanders proved too strong and ran out 35-5 winners with a hat-trick from Rupena Levasa.
Tuohy, of the Cornish Pirates, finished at pace after some good work at the contact area, but their opponents are seasoned veterans of the Sevens scene and quickly scotched any hope of an upset.
Ireland’s defence let them down as they allowed the islanders too much space to create, in the second half especially.
Levasa was ruthless in sight of the line, while Simaika Mikaele and Lolo Lui also got on the scoresheet.
John Skurr will be hopeful his side can raise the tempo in time for the remaining pool games against Australia and Portugal tomorrow.
Tom Varndell came on as a half-time replacement against Hong Kong and helped England recover from a slow start and a sin-binning - even in Sevens they could not keep a full contingent on the field - to win 42-5.
It was Varndell’s first appearance in an England Sevens jersey since the 2006 Commonwealth Games final in Melbourne, since when he has made two false starts in the Test arena and been dropped like a stone by Leicester.
Varndell, who has clocked 10.8seconds for the 100metres in his socks, proved his worth when he seared outside the Hong Kong defence for a spectacular try. He later scored the final try when he got the ball for just the third time.
Ben Gollings scored twice to finish with a personal haul of 22 points while Josh Drauniniu added to Tom Biggs’s first-half try as England recovered from a stuttering start.
Exeter’s Kevin Barrett was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on after he had been left isolated in defence and Hong Kong went 5-0 ahead.
But they could not live with Gollings in midfield or Varndell out wide — and he will scare tougher teams this weekend than Hong Kong.
“I have never understood why people don’t believe in him,” said Lawrence Dallaglio of Varndell. “He is a fantastic talent. What an athlete. Sevens breaks rugby down to its rawest form. You have to be supremely fit, you have to be able to tackle.
“You cannot have any weak tacklers in a Sevens team.”
Wales opened the tournament with a 31-5 victory over Zimbabwe that featured a hat-trick for Craig Hill but ended in controversy after the referee blew for time 30 seconds early.
Wales coach Paul John was furious given qualification for the quarter-finals could well come down to points difference. The six group winners go through automatically followed by the two best runners-up.
Scotland lost their opening game to Canada 33-14, with Colin Gregor scoring both tries in the second-half.
Coach Stephen Gemmell was furious that Scotland allowed Canada to open a 33-0 half-time lead and said: “Our first-half performance was unacceptable. Our heads went down straight after the first score and the players just looked shell-shocked.
Elsewhere, all the major nations won their opening game although Fiji were given a scare by Georgia before winning 26-10.
Ireland Sevens squad
Gary Brown (Blackrock College - Leinster), Kieran Campbell ( Galwegians - Connacht) (capt), Brian Carney (Clonakilty - Munster), James Coughlan (Dolphin - Munster), Conan Doyle (Garryowen - Munster), Tom Gleeson (Cork Constitution - Munster), Eoghan Grace (Shannon - Munster), Felix Jones (Old Belvedere - Leinster), Paul Marshall (Belfast Harlequins - Ulster), Daniel Riordan (Buccaneers - Connacht), Kyle Tonetti (Blackrock College - Leinster), Brian Tuohy (Cornish Pirates)
