All Blacks deserve to be Sevens series champions, says Powell
SPRINGBOK Sevens coach Neil Powell says New Zealand deserved to claim the 2019-20 World Sevens Series title after an “amazing level of consistency” throughout the shortened season.
The All Blacks Sevens team finished top of the standings after six tournaments, and World Rugby yesterday announced the cancellation of the remaining four tournaments of the series due to the Covid-19 pandemic. New Zealand had 115 log points, followed by the Blitzboks on 104. Fiji (83), Australia (81) and England (77) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Powell congratulated All Black Sevens coach Clark Laidlaw and his squad for winning the title and performing well consistently during the shortened season.
“New Zealand won three of the six tournaments and had two more podium finishes, which shows their amazing level of consistency during the season,” said Powell.
“After these performances, I think they deserved the title. We had tournament victories in Dubai and Los Angeles and made the finals in Cape Town and Sydney, but our below-par performances in Hamilton and Vancouver cost us.”
Powell added that the cancellation of the London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong tournaments was disappointing, but understandable.
“There was very good communication from World Rugby with the national coaches since the pandemic started, so we all knew that it was going to be a stretch to complete the season, if at all, and we know their decision was taken with the best interest at heart for all involved,” said Powell, who was pleased with his team’s second-place finish overall and the way they performed.
“We played some good rugby at times and I will consider the season as a success. Much of the World Series planning and performances were with the Olympic Games in mind, so I think we kept on track with what we planned in that regard and I would like to thank my management and the squad for the effort they delivered.”
Powell further explained that the latest developments have brought some clarity in terms of their preparations for next season.
“We can now cancel all provisional dates and start to plan for the next series. There will be new challenges and some new players, but that is an exciting prospect and something we are looking forward to,” he said.