NZ retain title; BlitzBokke stay top
New Zealand retained their title at the Wellington leg of the Sevens World Series on Saturday.
The Kiwis beat England 27-21 in the Final, closing the gap on Series leaders South Africa – who hung remained in first place after a third-place finish.
It was New Zealand's first title of the 2014/15 World Series.
The result means the All Blacks move up to second in the overall World Series standings, seven points behind South Africa (who have 76) and Fiji (64) holding onto third. England (56) moved to within two points of Australia, who occupy fourth.
Earlier New Zealand got their revenge by dumping South Africa out in the semifinals.
The Kiwis – who had lost to the BlitzBokke in the last two World Series tournaments, 17-26 in the Port Elizabeth Final and 9-28 in the Dubai semifinal – beat SA 17-7 in the semifinal of their home tournament.
England booked their place with a dramatic 24-19 come-from-behind win over Scotland.
Earlier New Zealand obliterated Australia in their quarterfinal match 26-7.
However, Series leaders South Africa were made to work much harder – going down 0-5 early against ASfrican rivals Kenya, before fighting back to win 19-5.
In the other quarterfinals England eliminated Fiji in sudden death, to set up a Cup semifinal showdown with Scotland, who edged the United States in a dramatic come-from-behind win.
We bring you all the Day Two action!
Cup Final:
New Zealand beat England 27-21 in an enthralling Final in Wellington.
Teenage debutant Rieko Ioane, 17, shone in the win, Gordon Tietjens' side's first of the Series.
The All Blacks Sevens raced out to a 10-nil lead inside three minutes of the Final, through Dylan Collier and Gillies Kaka, before England closed the gap.
However, youngster Rieko Ioane extended New Zealand's lead just on half-time to 15-7.
The win was sealed early in the second half with tries to Scott Curry and Ioane, before England scored two late consolation tries.
Third-place play-off:
South African bounced back in fine style in the third-place play-off by demolishing Scotland 40-7 – a result that ensured they remain first on the World Series standings, albeit by a reduced margin.
James Fleming went over for the Scot inside the first minute, but that was to be the last time they seriously threatened the BlitzBokke.
Captain Kyle Brown, Warrick Gelant and flyer Seabelo Senatla (two) scored to give SA a 28-7 lead at half-time.
Further tries by Gelant and Ryno Benjamin after the break sealed the victory.
Plate Final:
Fiji were too strong for Australia, scoring five unanswered tries in their 24-0 victory.
A scoreless first half was looming before Fiji's Osea Kolinisau broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time – after a deft pass from Semi Kunatani gave the Pacific islanders a 7-0 lead.
Fiji came out full of running in the second stanza, Sitiveni Waqa then Kunatani scoring in quick succession to shut Australia out. Samisoni Viriviri put an exclamation mark on the win with a late try.
Bowl Final:
Four tries in the opening half, including a double to French flyer Vakatawa who impressed with every touch all weekend, gave Les Blues a 22-0 advantage over Argentina at half-time, before Stephen Parez secured a 27-5 victory.
Shield Final:
Canada claimed the honours in the Shield Final defeating Samoa 26-10.
Trailing 0-5 after Samoa's Gregory Foe scored five minutes in, Canada hit back with a try either side of half-time through Harry Jones and John Moonlight to lead 14-5.
Further tries to Canada's Lucas Hammond and Admir Cejvanovic gave them an unassailable lead.
Cup semifinals:
England will meet defending champions and hosts New Zealand in the Cup Final.
Simon Amor's side came from 0-19 behind to snatch victory against Scotland, who were appearing in only their fourth ever Cup semifinal, with Charlie Hayter scoring the winning try in sudden death extra time.
The All Blacks secured their Cup Final berth with a hard-fought 17-7 win over South Africa, debutants Jack Goodhue and Rieko Ioane scoring second half tries to help secure the win.
Joe Webber scored first to give New Zealand a 7-0 lead, before Albertus Smith levelled for South Africa after some good build-up play from Cecil Afrika and Werner Kok.
Goodhue broke a second half deadlock for the defending Wellington Sevens champions, with a 50-metre dash to the line for a 12-7 lead, before fellow tournament debutant Ioane was next to score for New Zealand securing their berth in the Cup Final.
Results:
Scotland 19-24 England
South Africa 7-17 New Zealand
Plate semifinals:
Fiji beat the United States 12-10, holding off a second half fightback from the Eagles to advance to the Plate Final.
Australia also advanced after defeated Kenya 21-5.
Samisoni Viriviri put first points on the board for Fiji, before enterprising play from the US had them under pressure, Folau Niua crossing for the Eagles pegging the score back to 7-5 at the break. A try to Andrew Durutalo put the US in front by three, before Vatemo Ravouvou crossed the stripe helping his side to victory.
In the other semifinal, Greg Jeloudev found himself in the clear for Australia's first try and a 7-0 lead, quickly pegged back by a smart Michael Wanjala try on the stroke of half time. James Stannard and Sam Myers put the finishing touches on the win for Australia with second-half tries.
Results:
Kenya 5-21 Australia
United States 10-12 Fiji
Bowl semifinals:
France advanced to the Bowl final by defeating Wales 43-0 in scoring seven unanswered tries – including two from Virimi Vakatawa, who continued his impressive form at the tournament.
Argentina also advanced after Los Pumas easily accounted for Portugal 47-12 in their semifinal, Santiago Cordero and German Schultz both scoring braces.
Results:
Argentina 47-12 Portugal
France 43-0 Wales
Shield semifinals:
Samoa beat Papua New Guinea 47-5 to reach the Shield Final, before Canada defeated Japan to book their places in the Shield Final.
Results:
Japan 21-28 Canada
Samoa 47-5 Papua New Guinea
Cup quarterfinals:
England needed sudden death extra-time in their 26-21 win over Fiji, with Christian Lewis-Pratt breaking the deadlock.
Scotland came from 0-15 behind to snatch a late 19-15 win over the United States, with James Fleming scoring two.
South Africa and New Zealand held off the challenges of Kenya and Australia to set up a heavyweight semifinal bout.
Trailing 0-5, the current Series leaders South Africa switched into gear to defeat Kenya 19-5, scoring three tries through Cecil Afrika, Frankie Horne and Justin Geduld as they attempt to win their third consecutive title.
Defending champions and hosts New Zealand caught Australia napping early, racing away to a 19-0 lead early through tries to Gillies Kaka, Sam Dickson and Joe Webber.
Cameron Clark responded just shy of half time to reduce the margin to 12 but Kaka's second put the match beyond reach for Geraint John's men.
Results:
New Zealand 26-7 Australia
Kenya 5-19 South Africa
Fiji 21-26 England
United States 15-19 Scotland
Bowl quarterfinals:
France were the first side to progress to the Bowl semifinals with a 26-19 win over Samoa. Samoa Taloa scored two tries for the Islanders, but two tries in each half was enough to secure the win for Les Blues.
Wales eased their way into the final four with a 41-0 win over Papua New Guinea, scoring seven unanswered tries. First half tries to Samuel Cross, Luke Morgan and Nicky Griffiths paved the way for the win while Tom Williams helped himself to a second-half brace.
Argentina overpowered Japan 38-5, inspired by the clever play making skills and two first half tries from Javier Rojas. Ramiro Moyano also crossed the stripe twice in the first stanza while Segundo Tuculet got his brace in the second.
Trailing Canada by one point in the overall Sevens series standings, Portugal defeated Liam Middleton's men 26-0. The Portuguese took a 12-0 lead into the break on the back of strong play and a try from Aderito Esteves. A second to Esteves and a fine solo effort from Nuno Guedes sealed the win.
Results:
Canada 0-26 Portugal
Argentina 38-5 Japan
Wales 41-0 Papua New Guinea
France 26-19 Samoa
@WorldRugby7s & @SevensWelly
CUP FINAL! @EnglandRugby v @AllBlacks @nz7s at @SevensWelly! RT if you think ENG will win and FAV if NZ pic.twitter.com/rLoFU81pZy
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) February 7, 2015
What a start to the #NZ7s Cup quarter-finals! Can @fijirugby and @EnglandRugby produce half as much drama? pic.twitter.com/HtYpoEAkWx
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) February 7, 2015
It's #NZ7s Cup quarter-finals time, first up – @USARugby v @Scotlandteam. Who'll prevail in the speedster's duel? pic.twitter.com/0ahtUSsEh9
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) February 7, 2015
