Hong Kong Sevens: New Zealand and Australia pay emotional tribute to shooting victims

Kiwi co-captain Tim Mikkelson revealed the incident had played heavily on their minds in the lead-up to Friday, given the fact his team would be the first from New Zealand in any sport to play since the shootings of March 15 that left 50 dead, and 50 injured.

The All Blacks Sevens wore white – instead of their traditional black – with black armbands to mark the memories of those lost.

“It’s been pretty emotional,” said Mikkelson. “We want to do our small part to remember those who lost their lives. We got in that huddle and we just wanted to go out there and play as hard as we can and give New Zealand something to support over the weekend.”

It’s impossible to attribute any significance to matters as trivial as sport at such times, but the teams went out and played hard in the 40-19 win for New Zealand. Hearts were touched and fingers pointed to the sky after tries and conversions.

“We showed our respects tonight by the way we played and we’ll try to continue that over the weekend,” coach Clark Laidlaw said.