All Blacks Sevens confident ahead of key SVNS Singapore clash with Fiji

Another chapter will be written into the history books of New Zealand and Fiji’s unique rivalry on the HSBC SVNS Series when the two traditional foes meet in a must-win pool stage clash at Singapore’s National Stadium.

With a different format being used for this weekend’s event, only the top-ranked side from each of the four groups will qualify for Sunday’s semi-finals. The All Blacks Sevens passed their first test with a hard-fought 29-14 win over the relegation-threatened USA.

Cody Vai led the way with two tries, including an effort in the 13^th minute, which wrapped up the win for the men in black. Joe Webber, Sofai Maka and Amanaki Nicole also got on the scoresheet as the New Zealanders pulled away late in the contest.

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As the defending Cup Final winners in Singapore, the All Blacks Sevens will have their sights set on repeating those heroics in the final regular season event of the 2024/25 campaign. But to do that, New Zealand will need to overcome possibly their greatest sevens rival.

Still out of breath after walking off the field and down the tunnel, Vai spoke about the upcoming clash with the Fijians which could very well determine who tops Pool D and progresses through to the next stage of the event.

“Definitely the biggest game you can be in, especially in the sevens,” Vai told RugbyPass. “Best sport in each country.

“I feel like we’ve prepared well for it and looking forward to it as well.

“They’re always one of the toughest teams we play against.

“Obviously, you see the physicality in their team and I feel like we can match that as well. Hopefully, it’ll be a good one to watch.”

The All Blacks Sevens sit in seventh-place on the overall SVNS Series Men’s standings so they’re well and truly out of the league title race this season. But with the World Championship in Los Angeles on May 3-4 right around the corner, there’s still plenty to play for.

New Zealand suffered a quarter-final exit to eventual runners-up at the Hong Kong Sevens last weekend but they’re intent on putting that behind them with a strong showing at the Singaporean venue.

After plenty of tough and dark “mahi” – which means work in Maori – the All Blacks Sevens still seem confident that they can match it with the best teams on the circuit. It was a scrappy win over the United States in Singapore, but it was all New Zealand in the dying stages.

“During the week, we talked about the dark mahi work we’ve done the last three weeks before Hong Kong,” Vai reflected.

“I felt we showed it out there in the last few minutes of the game.”

In the other men’s fixtures early on Saturday, Kenya claimed a confidence-building 17-7 win over Ireland, before Spain’s 21-12 triumph over Uruguay.

But maybe the biggest shock from the early fixtures on day one was Great Britain’s dominant 38-10 win over South Africa’s Blitzboks. Poor discipline cost the Boks, who went down to 5 men at one stage during GB’s six-try blitz.

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