Rush aiming to go one up on sevens star dad
Brady Rush might be able to achieve something in the sevens game his famous father Eric never could.
The All Blacks Sevens defeated Australia 24-12 and 26-19 in games either side of the Blues’ 48-21 win over the Waratahs at Eden Park.
The 22-year-old Rush scored the All Blacks Sevens’ opening try yesterday, to further enhance his chances of making the cut for the Tokyo Olympics in July.
His dad Eric Rush spent 14 years playing sevens for New Zealand and won Commonwealth gold medals in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002.
But it was 14 years after he hung up the boots that it became an Olympic sport. Brady, who played for Northland in the NPC last season, is hoping he’ll be on that plane to Tokyo.
‘‘It would be pretty special,’’ Rush said.
‘‘But I’ve still got to work towards trying to make that team.
‘‘There are 16 going over and there are 22 of us here. So I’ll put my best foot forward and we’ll see what happens.’’
The first game of the day was an entertaining win to the All Blacks Sevens, but the real drama came in the second clash, where they chased down a 19-0 deficit.
Australia made the most of their chances and scored three first-half tries, New Zealand’s only response a try to Andrew Knewstubb at the hooter.
Knewstubb set up a try for Vilimoni Koroi early in the second half and Joe Webber continued the comeback, levelling the scores up at 19-19.
Then with a minute to go, William Warbrick pulled off a great fend, then raced off for the matchwinner.
The All Blacks Sevens team have had a few low-key games recently as they build towards Tokyo, but these six matches against Australia take things up a level. The series concludes at Orakei Domain today.