Kiwis take flight but Fijians await
Fiji are the first hurdle for New Zealand to clear in pursuit of their fourth straight Wellington Sevens title.
New Zealand will meet the Olympic champions in a mouthwatering cup quarterfinal at Westpac Stadium today, after overcoming a few early wobbles to beat the United States 24-12 in the final match of day one.
New Zealand were behind from the get-go, after Stephen Tomasin touched down following a turnover. Taniela Koroi replied for the hosts and then saved a try after Martin Iosefo and Perry Baker seemed certain to extend the USA’s lead.
The moment was only delayed, though.
Referee Craig Joubert sinbinned New Zealand’s Tim Mikkelson and from the resultant penalty big Danny Barrett barged his way over as the United States took a 12-7 lead into halftime.
‘‘In the modern game you just can't afford to have someone in the bin; it costs you points,’’ New Zealand co-coach Scott Waldrom said.
‘‘It's part of the game, you can’t fall on a guy and his knees did fall on him. There certainly wasn't malice, but there's still duty of care and we’ve got to abide by the rules and work on that and not get in that situation again.’’
Isaac Te Tamaki had been responsible for the error that led to Tomasin’s try but redeemed himself midway through the second spell by converting an opportunity created by Mikkelson. Koroi kicked the extras and New Zealand were 14-12 up then, almost immediately, 19-12 ahead.
Mikkelson was the man to finish a fine team try to which Iopu IopuAso had been an important contributor. Te Tamaki then finished things off after the final hooter.
The rookie said he’d been given ‘‘a rark up’’ by team-mate Sherwin Stowers at halftime and was glad to put things right.
Even if his last try might have put the odd heart in the mouth.
With time up, booting the ball into the stands would've been the option for a more experienced campaigner, but not Te Tamaki.
‘‘I heard the boys say ‘kick it out’ and I guess the adrenalin was pumping a bit too much so I decided to have a bit of a go. I got lucky with him [the defender] turning back in at the last minute and I took him back on the outside,’’ Te Tamaki said.
New Zealand have been good in patches during this tournament but they’ll need to be pretty well flawless to beat Fiji.
It’s one thing accounting for Samoa 33-7 and France 21-14 prior to the USA game, but Fiji are a few rungs up on those sides.
They can be beaten, though, as South Africa showed in pool play,’’ said Waldrom of Fiji.
‘‘They suffocated Fiji defensively to claim an emphatic 31-12 win.
‘‘They're an outstanding team and they know how to keep the ball alive.
‘‘They play with a lot of flair, they've got size and they’ve got speed so we’re really going to have to step up to prepare for what’s probably going to be the hardest game we’ve had for quite a while.’’
In the other quarterfinals, South Africa meet France, England and Scotland do battle and Canada clash with Argentina. Phil Gifford opinion/ pB3