Dramatic NZ finish in Vegas

A length-of-the-field try in extra time by Sione Molia saw New Zealand salvage fifth place in the latest round of the World Series Sevens.

Molia’s golden-point heroics gave New Zealand a 17-12 win over Australia in the playoff for fifth at the Las Vegas leg yesterday.

It’s the third tournament in a row where New Zealand have failed to reach the podium after finishing second in the seasonopener in Dubai and winning the subsequent leg in Cape Town.

But the Kiwis weren’t alone, as upsets ruled in Vegas. Series leaders South Africa lost their semifinal 12-10 to Argentina and Fiji were beaten 19-7 by hosts the United States in the other semifinal.

Fiji sneaked past South Africa 26-22 to claim third and the United States crushed Argentina 28-0 in a treasured hometown finals win.

That will ease some of the New Zealand pain on the series points table, as the season hits the halfway stage. Somehow they have held on to second place from a Las Vegas weekend where results repeatedly went against the odds.

New Zealand coach Clarke Laidlaw will be pleased with the courage shown by New Zealand in their dogged display against Australia on the final day.

Earlier New Zealand had fought hard to sneak past England 19-14 to reach the fifth-place playoff.

Locked at 7-7 at halftime and 14-14 with time up on the clock, they managed to sneak Dylan Collier over the tryline in the corner with the last play of the match to win 19-14.

New Zealand avoided the embarrassment of a first-ever miss of the quarterfinals of a World Series tournament, finishing second in their pool after a 26-17 win over Scotland, after scratching out a 28-7 victory over Uruguay, then losing 26-19 to Argentina on the opening day.

Then came a heartbreaking 14-10 quarterfinal loss to Fiji.