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SYDNEY 7s 2016
NEW ZEALAND beat Australia 27-24 in a breathtaking final of the HSBC Sydney Sevens, round four of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
HIGHLIGHTS
Having never led in the final, Rieko Ioane scored his hat-trick try with the last play of the match to give New Zealand the victory in front of a sold-out Allianz Stadium crowd of 37,095.
In a repeat of the 17-17 draw in the final pool match of day one, it was only Australia's second Cup final on home soil having won the 2002 Brisbane Sevens. But they came up against an inspired Sir Gordon Tietjens' side that never gave up despite Henry Hutchison twice giving Australia the lead in the first half, and Sam Myers and Greg Jeloudev doing the same in the second half.
New Zealand remain in third with the win but move to the same points as leaders Fiji (69), who reclaimed top spot by beating South Africa 26-12 to finish third in Sydney, and the second-place Blitzboks with points difference separating the three teams at the top.
New Zealand captain Tim Mikkelson said: "I just want to thank Aussie, for an awesome two games over the weekend, you guys played awesome and this is an awesome tournament that will just grow from year to year.
"To the fans, all the New Zealanders, thanks for coming out and supporting us. And to our boys, another awesome effort, we said it would take 20 minutes to win and we just kept on going and we got the victory in the end."
In a controversial statement from World Rugby, the governing body confirmed that it is investigating an apparent breach of Law 3 (number of players on the field of play) by the New Zealand sevens team. The alleged incident occurred during the second half of New Zealand's Pool A match against Australia on 6 February. In accordance with Law 3.2 the result of the match will stand, but World Rugby is currently reviewing the matter to determine if any disciplinary action is warranted.
In the semi-finals New Zealand beat Fiji 14-12, with Akira Ioane scoring one of the tries of the tournament, while Australia defeated South Africa 12-7.
In the quarters New Zealand beat USA 24-7, with Andy Friend's side coming from 12-7 behind to beat England 17-12 in sudden death extra time. Having come off the bench 18-year-old Henry Hutchison scored in the corner to level the scores, before securing a turnover and dotting down for the winning try to send the crowds wild.
ARGENTINA CRUISE TO PLATE VICTORY
Argentina proved themselves to be worthy winners of the Plate at the HSBC Sydney Sevens after a solid team performance against Kenya gave them a 24-0 win. Nicolas Menendez opened the scoring for Santiago Gomez Cora's side as Argentina played with fluidity in the first half. A sin bin for Nelson Oyoo in the second half put even more pressure on Kenya when he took down Franco Sabato in a foot race to give Argentina a penalty try. Sabato bagged his own try shortly after, with Axel Muller also joining in the fun with his own score.
HIRAYAMA AT THE DOUBLE IN THE BOWL
Canada's Nathan Hirayama scored twice in the Bowl final as his side won all three of their matches on day two to win the Bowl. Following wins over Scotland and Wales, Canada beat Samoa 17-12 to claim eight points for their overall series tally. Canada captain John Moonlight said: "We had a rough first day, probably didin't put the performances in we wanted to, so better to come out today and get three wins and leave here happy."
MORGAN HELPS WALES END ON A HIGH
Wales beat Russia 26-19 to lift the Shield after a tough weekend in Sydney. Welsh flyer Luke Morgan scored a hat-trick in the win and despite the Russians tying things up in the second half after German Davydov spun his way through the Welsh defence, they ended up disappointed when Ethan Davies got his name on the scoreboard after Morgan had earlier completed his hat-trick.
FIJI, South Africa and England won all three of their matches on day one of the HSBC Sydney Sevens, the fourth round of the series, while hosts Australia and New Zealand ended the opening day with an enthralling 17-17 draw.
Hosts Australia and last week's champions New Zealand provided an enthralling ending to the opening day of the HSBC Sydney Sevens with a dramatic 17-17 draw.
In the Pool A decider, New Zealand came from 17-5 down at half-time to level the scores thanks to tries from Augustine Pulu and Ardie Savea, putting the All Blacks Sevens through as pool winners on points differential and they will meet USA in the first quarter-final on day two, while England await hosts Australia.
POOL A
1 
2 
3 
4 
POOL B
1 
2 
3 
4 
POOL C
1 
2 
3 
4 
POOL D
1 
2 
3 
4 
At a sun-soaked Allianz Stadium, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series leaders South Africa, second-placed Fiji and fourth-placed England also impressed winning all three of their matches in front of a sold-out crowd of 36,218 fans.
Australia try-scorer Lewis Holland said: "We knew it would be a massive challenge and it was, it came right down to the wire and I guess that is what we have to work on, closing those games out in the dying seconds.
"Today is a building block, it's all about day two, we have got to regroup, recover and tighten up on a few loose areas and come out tomorrow with our heads switched on, those nerves are settled now, and really put on a show tomorrow."
Ben Ryan's Fiji continued their impressive pool stage record, their three wins ensuring they have now tasted victory in 39 of their last 39 pool matches after victories over Samoa, France and Argentina. Savenaca Rawaca scored twice in the 19-14 Pool C deciding win over Los Pumas, and they will face Kenya in their quarter-final on day two.
Series leaders South Africa also won their three matches, beating Kenya 26-19 to finish top of Pool B with Seabelo Senatla, who leads the way in the DHL performance index in Sdyney, scoring his 24th try of the series so far. Neil Powell's Blitzboks will come up against Argentina in a repeat of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens final.
England beat USA 17-14 in a thrilling Pool D decider, Alex Davis, Alex Gray and captain Tom Mitchell scoring the tries in the victory.
SATURDAY 6th February 2016 |
|||||||
1 |
11:00 |
FIJI |
31-0 |
SAMOA |
POOL C |
||
2 |
11:22 |
ARGENTINA |
17-7 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
3 |
11:44 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
33-7 |
SCOTLAND |
POOL B |
||
4 |
12:06 |
KENYA |
24-10 |
RUSSIA |
POOL B |
||
5 |
12:28 |
ENGLAND |
26-5 |
JAPAN |
POOL D |
||
6 |
12:50 |
USA |
42-0 |
WALES |
POOL D |
||
7 |
13:12 |
NEW ZEALAND |
27-12 |
CANADA |
POOL A |
||
8 |
13:34 |
AUSTRALIA |
24-7 |
PORTUGAL |
POOL A |
||
9 |
14:18 |
FIJI |
49-5 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
10 |
14:40 |
ARGENTINA |
14-12 |
SAMOA |
POOL C |
||
11 |
15:02 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
40-0 |
RUSSIA |
POOL B |
||
12 |
15:24 |
KENYA |
17-14 |
SCOTLAND |
POOL B |
||
13 |
16:26 |
ENGLAND |
21-5 |
WALES |
POOL D |
||
14 |
16:48 |
USA |
33-17 |
JAPAN |
POOL D |
||
15 |
17:10 |
NEW ZEALAND |
40-5 |
PORTUGAL |
POOL A |
||
16 |
17:32 |
AUSTRALIA |
26-12 |
CANADA |
POOL A |
||
17 |
17:59 |
SAMOA |
29-14 |
FRANCE |
POOL C |
||
18 |
18:21 |
FIJI |
19-14 |
ARGENTINA |
POOL C |
||
19 |
18:43 |
SCOTLAND |
40-5 |
RUSSIA |
POOL B |
||
20 |
19:05 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
26-19 |
KENYA |
POOL B |
||
21 |
19:57 |
JAPAN |
21-26 |
WALES |
POOL D |
||
22 |
20:19 |
ENGLAND |
17-14 |
USA |
POOL D |
||
23 |
20:41 |
CANADA |
17-26 |
PORTUGAL |
POOL A |
||
24 |
21:03 |
NEW ZEALAND |
17-17 |
AUSTRALIA |
POOL A |
||
SUNDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2016 |
|||||||
25 |
09:45 |
Portugal |
31-17 |
Japan |
BOWL QF |
||
26 |
10:07 |
Samoa |
28-24 |
Russia |
BOWL QF |
||
27 |
10:29 |
Wales |
21-32 |
Canada |
BOWL QF |
||
28 |
10:51 |
Scotland |
22-19 |
France |
BOWL QF |
||
29 |
11:35 |
New Zealand |
24-7 |
USA |
CUP QF |
||
30 |
11:57 |
Fiji |
28-12 |
Kenya |
CUP QF |
||
31 |
12:19 |
England |
12-17 |
Australia |
CUP QF |
||
32 |
12:41 |
South Africa |
26-0 |
Argentina |
CUP QF |
||
Shield Semi Final (33)
Japan 17 - 24 Russia
Shield Semi Final (34)
Wales 22 - 5 France
Bowl Semi Final (35)
Portugal 10 - 14 Samoa
Bowl Semi Final (36)
Canada 35 - 12 Scotland
Plate Semi Final (37)
USA 21 - 24 Kenya
Plate Semi Final (38)
England 14 - 19 Argentina
Cup Semi Final (39)
New Zealand 14 - 12 Fiji
Cup Semi Final (40)
Australia 12 - 7 South Africa
SHIELD FINAL
Russia 19 - 26 WALES
BOWL FINAL
Samoa 12 - 17 CANADA
PLATE FINAL
Kenya 0 - 24 ARGENTINA
THIRD PLACE
FIJI 26 - 12 South Africa
CUP FINAL
NEW ZEALAND 27 - 24 Australia
POOL A |
POOL B |
POOL C |
POOL D |
WORLD RUGBY announced the pools for the fourth round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Sydney, to be played on 6-7 February 2016.
The pools for the HSBC Sydney Sevens were drawn ahead of the Cup final at the Westpac Stadium, with Cup winners New Zealand heading Pool A at the Allianz Stadium thanks to a 24-21 victory over South Africa.
Looking ahead to Sydney, New Zealand captain Tim Mikkelson said: "We've only been together a week so it's pretty good what the boys put together this weekend. We'll keep on working on things and hopefully we can get a little bit better in Sydney."
Sir Gordon Tietjen's side will face hosts Australia, Canada and Portugal in Pool A, while runners-up and series leaders South Africa meet Kenya, Scotland and Russia.
Ben Ryan's Fiji await Argentina, Samoa and France in possibly the toughest of the four pools, and England will play USA, Japan and Wales.
SYDNEY will be the fourth Australian city to host a leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series when the carnival heads back to these shores on the weekend of 6/7 February 2016.
The Harbour City follows in the rather large footsteps of Brisbane, Adelaide and the Gold Coast as fans of all different cultures and allegiances from across the globe descend on Sydney.
Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane hosted Australia’s first-ever World Series leg in February 2000, the hosts only pipped by a magical try from Fijian legend Waisale Serevi in the dying moments as the Pacific Islanders won the Cup Final.
After a one-year hiatus, Ballymore once again hosted a World Series leg, this time in February 2002. Richard Graham and Cameron Pither were among the try scorers as the Aussies defeated trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand for what is still the green and golds solitary triumph on home soil.
Australia's premier pop duo The Veronicas and the iconic Hoodoo Gurus have been named as the headline musical acts for the inaugural HSBC Sydney 7s at the Allianz Stadium.
The Veronicas will perform on the Saturday evening. Fresh from winning an ARIA Award for their multi-platinum, #1 single 'You Ruin Me', The Veronicas will add an Australian flavour to what will be a global party during the Sydney leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series. The Hoodoo Gurus will set the scene for the final three games on the Sunday afternoon. The Australian Hall of Fame inductees will keep things rocking with a 30 minute set of songs which have made them one of the most well-known and loved bands in the country.
The announcement of the world-class acts complements the Festival of Sevens that already includes an invitational Sevens tournament being hosted on Kippax Oval on the Saturday afternoon, an event partnership with the Bondi 10s, a three-match Women's series between world number one Australia and Ireland as well as a VIVA7s clinic on the hallowed SCG turf. In addition to a bustling precinct entertainment area, the Sydney 7s will be a truly global event like no other.
* * * * * * *
THE final squads have been announced by all16 competing teams ahead of the fourth round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Australia.
With the series continuing after three pulsating events in Dubai, Cape Town and Wellington, this weekend sees Sydney host the Australian round of the series after moving from the Gold Coast.
The top three sides all make one change, with Tim Agaba replacing Justin Geduld for South Africa, Fiji's Viliame Mata coming in for Emosi Mulevoro and Dylan Collier joinng last week's champions New Zealand in place of Sam Dickson.
South Africa lead the series with 54 points having made the last two finals ahead of Fiji (52) and New Zealand (47), and captain Philip Snyman said: "Unfortunately we lost in Wellington, but we left that there the minute we stepped on the plane and we've had some good sessions here. The guys have good spirits, smiles are up and we are hoping for a good tournament in Sydney."
Hosts Australia make five changes, while Kenya are the most experienced side again with 328 tournament appearances in their squad of 12.
- Kenya's Humphrey Kayange is one away from scoring his 150th career try
- Portugal's Aderito Esteves is two from his 100th try
- Australia's Con Foley is one try from 50
- Kenya's Willy Ambaka is also one try short of 50
- Fiji's Osea Kolinisau is one conversion from 200
- Samoa's Samoa Toloa is three from 50 tries
- Kenya's Collins Injera is seven away from reaching Ben Gollings' career total of 220
