Dancing to victory
New Zealand celebrates championship win over England with roaring haka
Still with gold medals around their necks, the New Zealand players stripped off their black jerseys and performed a stirring rendition of a haka dance in celebration of their Rugby World Cup Sevens championship Sunday night on the AT&T Park infield.
The first three-time champion in the event’s history, New Zealand had moments earlier beaten fourth-seeded England 33-12 in the capper to the party-like atmosphere that filled a sundrenched weekend in San Francisco.
The three-day tournament, which featured the world’s top 24 men’s teams and top 16 women’s teams, drew more than 100,000 fans — many of whom sported their country’s colors and all of whom seemed to dance, sing and cheer as a diverse backdrop to the game of “elegant violence.”
The post-tournament haka was unforgettable, and Akuila Rokolisoa will probably be remembered for flipping over the line on a scoring try that secured the title. But the most fitting examples of why the 84-match tournament is being deemed a resounding success came during Sun-
day morning’s semifinal between New Zealand and Fiji.
It was an absolute showcase of talent on the pitch and festivity in the stands.
Defending champions New Zealand scored the first 12 points of the second half to secure a 22-17 victory over the Fijian team as the most raucous crowd of the weekend soaked itself in merriment.
Still the benchmark for rugby sevens, New Zealand put on a polished performance, highlighted by stout defense and skilled offensive attacks to edge Fiji.
Fiji’s Semi Radradra and New Zealand’s Joe Ravouvou (player of the tournament) traded early scoring tries that would have made Marshawn Lynch proud. After Dylan Collier’s scoring try gave the All Blacks a 10-7 lead, Amenoni Nasilasila scored a try that set off the day’s most joyous celebration.
Nasilasila put Fiji ahead 12-10 by displaying a sequence of kicking skills in a sequence unmatched during the tournament. He dinked the ball through the defense and then served a half-volley that he collected for the go-ahead try just before halftime.
Dozens of Fiji’s Pacific Ocean blue flags waved around the baseball diamond-turned-rugby pitch, and fans linked arms and swayed as “Sweet Caroline” played on the public-address system.
But the vibe died relatively quickly in the second half as Regan Ware and Ravouvou scored consecutive tries that put New Zealand ahead 22-10, and the momentum from the semifinals appeared to persist into the championship.
Sione Molia scored the first two tries in the title match’s opening four minutes, and New Zealand never trailed. England trimmed its deficit to 19-12 with three minutes to play, but Rokolisoa responded with his enduring flip about 90 seconds later. Third place: South Africa jumped out to 15-0 lead and hung on for a 24-19 victory over Fiji. The top seed got seven points from Justin Geduld, who scored a try and made a conversion. Seventh place: Jamie Farndale sprinted the length of the pitch for a lung-busting, suddendeath scoring try that gave Scotland a 29-24 victory over France.