Singapore Sevens: New Zealand win back-to-back Cup finals, secure Olympic qualification
- Tries from Dylan Collier, Moses Leo, and Brady Rush enough to see Kiwis over the line, despite a late fightback from Argentina’s men
- After Shield heroics at home, Hong Kong’s weekend ends early with Canada gaining a measure of revenge in 13th place semi-final
After ruling in Hong Kong, New Zealand’s men made it back-to-back gold medals on the World Rugby Sevens Series, beating Argentina 19-17 in Sunday’s final in Singapore.
Tries from Dylan Collier, Moses Leo, and Brady Rush were enough to see them over the line, despite a late fightback from the South Americans.
The Kiwis’ fourth Cup final win of the current Series extended their lead at the top of the table to 24 points, with Argentina second, and also secured their qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“We talk a lot about embracing getting put into a hole – it makes it easier when you’re in a hole with these boys,” Leroy Carter – who was named Player of the Final – said.
“It’s definitely exciting, especially with the new boys coming in, they bring a lot of excitement and we’ve just got to follow them.
“We’re 100 per cent stoked. It was one of our goals at the beginning of the year to qualify for the Olympics and we’ve ticked that off so it’s now just about winning the Series.”
Fiji – who were beaten men’s finalists for the second Hong Kong Sevens in a row this month – had to settle for bronze, with their legion of travelling fans cheering them on again at the Singapore National Stadium.
They beat Samoa 24-19 in a breathless battle for third place in Singapore, having lost to New Zealand in the Singapore semi-finals.
The finish kept alive Fiji’s hopes of winning the overall title – they sit in third place in the standings, on 130 points.
“My heart’s taken a hammering this week. Credit to the boys, they stuck at it,” Fiji coach Ben Gollings said.
7 ideas to improve Hong Kong Sevens in 2024 and beyond
“We controlled it a lot better, we got the energy going at the end and got the victory we needed. It’s so key for points in this crazy Series we’re in at the moment.”
After a disappointing title defence in Hong Kong saw them fail to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Cup, Australia ended up with fifth place in Singapore, beating Great Britain 24-21 in a play-off.
Hong Kong’s men were brought crashing back down after their Shield heroics in their home city. Canada, whom they beat in the Shield final, gained a measure of revenge by knocking them out 26-5 in the 13th-place semis in Singapore on Sunday.
Canada were then beaten 22-17 by the USA. Ninth place went to Spain, who beat Kenya 26-10 in their final.
The next stop on the Series will see men’s and women’s competitions hosted in Toulouse, France over May 12-14. It will be the final stop for the women on the 2022-23 calendar, while the men will play one more event in London the following weekend.
