Ioane the hero as All Blacks win inaugural Sydney Sevens title
SYDNEY: Teenager Rieko Ioane scored a dramatic last-gasp try to give New Zealand a 27-24 win over Australia in a thrilling final and dash hopes of a home triumph in the inaugural Sydney Sevens.
With time having already expired, the 18-year-old silenced the 37,000 crowd at the Sydney Football Stadium by securing a hat-trick to give the All Blacks back-to-back titles after their Wellington triumph on home soil last weekend.
Ioane was named Player of the Tournament for his seven tries.
But his 20-year-old brother Akira, who set up Rieko’s first try with a trademark burst down the sideline, won the Man of the Match award after another tackle-busting performance.
Australia, under new coach Andy Friend but without marquee Wallabies signing Quade Cooper, never trailed in the final until Ioane crossed at the death and will take confidence from their performance over the weekend.
“They had us on the ropes in the first half,” said New Zealand skipper Tim Mikkelson.
“We know from last week what kind of lift you get from your home crowd.
“We just needed the ball, we’re a difficult team to beat when we have the ball.”
Fiji, beaten 14-12 in the semi-finals by the All Blacks, will depart for the next round in Las Vegas top of the series standings on points difference after their victory over pacesetters South Africa in the third-place playoff.
The Fijians, South Africa and New Zealand are all tied on 69 points after four rounds of the 10-stop championship, which this year is acting in part as preparation for rugby’s return to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Australia and Argentina have 54 points in fourth and fifth place.
New Zealand might yet drop down a spot or two, however, after World Rugby announced they were investigating pictures that appeared to show they had eight men on the pitch in their victory over Australia in the group stage on Saturday.
Sonny Bill Williams is probably the biggest name to have quit the 15-man game in a bid for Olympic glory but the twice Rugby World Cup winning All Black had a mixed final yesterday.
He showed his athleticism with a brilliant try-saving tap tackle in the early minutes of the final but was sin-binned later in the same half for a high tackle on Australia’s Allan Fa’alava’au.
Apart from the final result, organisers could not have asked for a better weekend after more than 73,000 fans, many of them in fancy dress, created a truly festive atmosphere at an event which had languished on the Gold Coast for the last few years.