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New Zealand put some ‘fear back into the black jersey’ at Hong Kong Sevens
By Finn Morton at Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong
With a packed house at Kai Tak Stadium watching on, New Zealand have “put a little bit of fear back into the black jersey” after overcoming one of this season’s HSBC SVNS Series heavyweights 24-5 in a fifth-place playoff.
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After winning the last two titles at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, the All Blacks Sevens’ quest for a three-peat came to an abrupt end on Saturday. France mounted an impressive comeback during a tense quarter-final and moved on with a 21-14 win.
The Kiwis had led 14-nil at one stage but instead had to turn their focus towards a playoff with Spain at the all-new 50,000-seat rugby sevens Coliseum. Spain were ranked second on the overall Men’s Series standings before this event, having emerged as a genuine contender.
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Spain started their season with two wins over New Zealand at the Dubai Sevens last December and they’ve regularly featured in the semi-finals since. But, after bowing out in the quarters themselves, the stage was set for an intriguing showdown on Sunday afternoon.
After taking a hard-fought 7-5 lead into the break, the All Blacks Sevens ran away with it as Dylan Collier, Sofai Maka and Regan Ware helped pile on the points. It’s a confidence-building result for the New Zealanders ahead of next weekend’s final regular season event in Singapore.
“It was definitely tough watching the boys go down to Spain a few times [earlier in the season] but you’ve got to tip our hat to them, they’ve definitely come a long way,” New Zealand’s Amanaki Nicole told RugbyPass at Kai Tak Stadium.
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“Especially since I last played them, they’ve just grown as a team. They’re kind of like the new Argies; they’ve just been together for a while and they’re starting to gel and are definitely a massive team on the circuit now.
“It’s good to get one of them over them though and put a little bit of fear back into the black jersey, which is good.”
Nicole was back in black at this event for the first time since last season’s tournament at Los Angeles’s Dignity Health Sports Park. The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist was “pretty emotional” at the jersey presentation ahead of the tournament in Hong Kong China.
With Nicole back in the mix, the All Blacks Sevens will see the World Championship on May 3-4 as an exciting opportunity. The World Championship offers the top eight teams in men’s and women’s SVNS to compete for the overall Series title at a winner-takes-all event.
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If Nicole is selected, the 33-year-old would return to LA while playing a role in New Zealand’s bid to win the Series’ top prize. Dignity Health Sports Park will host the event, meaning this could be the start of a sporting fairytale in rugby sevens’ global circuit.
“I guess it has been a little bit of a disappointing season for us, especially for our standards from previous years,” Nicole reflected.
“To still have a chance to win the World Series, you’d be silly not to lick your lips a little bit.”
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Put the fear back into the black jersey … by coming fifth? These players are just confirming the suspicion that they think the job’s done just by getting the jersey.
Some improvement on past efforts but a long way to go before they are on par with Argentina who are the benchmark now. Lost game against France when they coughed up possession just before halftime and allowed in the try that changed the momentum. Don’t give openings to any opponents.
A bit of complacency for the second try of french game ?