Fiji too good in Hamilton after US beats ABs
HAMILTON: Fiji scored six tries to none in overwhelming the United States 380 to win the the Hamilton leg of the rugby sevens World Series.
The Fijians ran in three tries in each half, completely dominant in winning their second successive World Series tournament after beating the Americans 2915 in last month’s Cape Town final.
Earlier, the All Blacks Sevens won the playoff for third when they beat South Africa 297, and the New Zealand women beat France 310 to win the fourteam women’s exhibition tournament.
The women’s side never looked like being beaten, and proved exactly why it is the defending world champion.
The United States toppled New Zealand in the men’s semifinals, scoring three tries to one to set upits finals clash with Fiji, which had outplayed South Africa 297 in the first semifinal.
Madison Hughes opened the scoring for the US, but a Regan Ware intercept try gave the New Zealanders a 75 lead at halftime.
The match turned in favour of the US when Vilimoni Koroi was yellowcarded for a dangerous tackle with just under five minutes of the second spell remaining.
Reduced to six men, the All Blacks Sevens were stretched defensively, and Stephen Tomasin crossed to grab the lead back for the Americans.
Carlin Isles wrapped up the game right on the final whistle with a third try for the US.
The result mirrors the Cape Town Sevens Cup semifinal last month, when the Americans outplayed New Zealand 3112 before being beaten in the final by Fiji. New Zealand went on to lose their bronze medal playoff to South Africa 105.
All Blacks Sevens coach Clark Laidlaw said the Hamilton performance was a ‘‘bit more disappointing than a bit’’.
‘‘A lot of work has gone into the last few weeks and to miss out on playing at home in a final is disappointing and frustrating. The way we played wasn’t quite what we were hoping for.
‘‘[But] I think we’re on the right track — the key is not to panic and dust ourselves off.’’
On Saturday, the All Blacks Sevens had recorded solid wins over Japan, Canada and Spain in pool play, then accounted for Australia 2417 in the quarterfinals, gaining a measure of revenge for their defeat at Australian hands a year ago in the playoff for third in Hamilton. — RNZ/ NZME