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Regan Ware the hero as All Blacks Sevens survive golden point thriller
By Finn Morton
It doesn’t get much more dramatic than that. With everything on the All Blacks Sevens at the Perth SVNS on Friday night, veteran Regan Ware was the hero that New Zealand needed.
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Drawn in the “pool of death” along with traditional SVNS Series heavyweights France, Samoa and Fiji, the New Zealanders were far from perfect early on.
France’s Theo Forner scored a sensational hat-trick as Les Bleus Sevens ran away with an incredible 33-17 win. It was a statement win that left the New Zealanders in a spot of bother.
What a finish!
New Zealand take it on golden point 🇳🇿#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSPER | @nz_sevens pic.twitter.com/Gs6eRS4NvK
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) January 26, 2024
Looking to avoid a winless day of play at HBF Park, the men in black went toe-to-toe with Samoa late that night. The first half only added to the drama, too.
There were no points scored. New Zealand were locked at nil-all with Samoa – who lost their first game as well. But a flurry of points sent fans into a frenzy after the break.
Leroy Carter and Tim Mikkelson helped the All Blacks Sevens race out to a 12-nil lead, but two late tries to Uaina Tui Sion and Malakesi Masefau saw Samoa claw their way back.
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The match ended in a draw and went to golden point. The five-minute timer ticked dangerously close to full-time, too, but SVNS veteran Regan Ware had the last say.
Leroy Carter sent Ware into a gap down the left edge, and a well-executed in-and-away saw the All Blacks Sevens secure a much-needed win on Australia’s west coast.
“To be fair I was kind of hoping (Leroy Carter) just dummied and went straight through. My legs were buggered out there on the wing,” Ware told RugbyPass. “The old boy just loves to set me up.
“I don’t think I’ve really done much. Just got the ball on the outside and put it down.
“It’s a crucial pool (match), especially with how we’ve got the tournament set up now. We need points, we need wins, and it was good to get a win in that second one after our first loss.”
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Fiji’s thrilling 26-21 win over France around 8 pm (local time) on day one saw Ben Gollings’ men top Pool C heading into a decisive final round of pool play on Saturday.
France edged New Zealand with a bonus point, while the Kiwis set just behind them on three competition points. It’s all to play for.
“Like you said ‘pool of death’. All week we’ve been calling it the pool of opportunities. It’s a good opportunity to play three of the best teams in the world,” Ware said.
“Unfortunately we didn’t do well against France but we scraped through with Samoa, another one of the best teams in the world, and now we’ve got another good opportunity to play Fiji first up tomorrow morning.
“Me and the boys are all excited. It doesn’t get much bigger than us versus Fiji in a do-or-die pool.”
By the time New Zealand play Fiji at 1:25 pm (local time) on Saturday, the equation should be somewhat simple – or at the very least, it should be a lot clearer.
France takes on Samoa in the game before. What it will take to finish in the top two should be clear.
But at this stage, it’s not the time to reinvent the wheel. It’s a final-like game for the All Blacks Sevens on Saturday – they just have to win.
“It’s important for us to try and approach every game like a final because you never know which game is going to be your last.
“It’s a good opportunity to get out there and inspire young kids who are out in the ground in All Blacks jerseys on, watching on TV.
“I’ve got three kids back home and hopefully they’ll all be watching, they won’t be asleep.
“It’s a good opportunity to treat every single game we play like a final so that we can inspire people.”
NZ are clearly struggling with their new coaching set up
Exactly. The selection policy is also all over the place. Retaining 3 old guys like Mikkelson 37, Curry 35 & Dickson 34 is nuts. The next generation of old guys should be Solia 31, Collier 32, & Nicole 31. Instead all six are in the same tourney team. Ridiculous.
Defence was the hero. But to be fair, these Samoan boys can play. And you can also see the French men & women rising up towards the Paris Olys.