RUGBY: New Zealand toppled Fiji in the Hong Kong rugby sevens final last Sunday (Apr 2) to seal a remarkable double gold with their women’s team and extend their lead atop the men’s series standings.
New Zealand’s women in action against Fiji. Photo: AFP
The All Blacks scored the game’s first three tries and held the Pacific islanders at bay from there to finish 24-17 winners, claim their third gold of the 11-stop tour and extend their lead over second-placed Argentina.
Cody Vai, Sione Molia, Leroy Carter and Ngarohi McGarvey-Black were the New Zealanders who scored in the whitewash, less than an hour after their women’s team secured their own gold medal by beating Australia.
This year’s tour also serves as Olympic qualifying, with the top four teams automatically heading to Paris 2024.
The series heads to Singapore next, before Toulouse and the finale in London in May.
In the lesser finals Sunday, the bronze medal went to France, who beat Great Britain 19-17, while Argentina claimed fifth place, Ireland sealed ninth, and hosts Hong Kong finished 13th.
Earlier in the day New Zealand’s women beat Australia 26-17 in the final to get one hand on the overall series trophy with one round to go.
The Black Ferns had cruised their way through the weekend, swatting away early opponents and looking mostly untroubled by Fiji in the semi-final, which they won 31-5.
But in Australia, they found their most credible opposition, and both southern-hemisphere giants were in the game for most of it.
Stacey Waaka’s second try of the match, in the 14th minute, made sure of the win, as well as making her the weekend’s second-top scorer, after Aussie star Charlotte Caslick.
The 27-year-old Waaka, who has 25 tries in the series so far, added that she hoped her country’s win – at the first-ever stop for the women’s series in Hong Kong – would resonate with younger women players.
“We’re talking about paving a path for future generations,” she said. “Hopefully there’s many more years to come and hopefully the girls watching at home in New Zealand can be here one day.”
Olympic berths are also up for grabs during this series, with the top four teams automatically heading to Paris 2024, along with hosts France.
New Zealand are 16 points clear of Australia in the series standing, and almost certain to secure the title in the final round of the women’s series in Toulouse in May.
In the lesser finals on Sunday, the bronze medal went to Great Britain, France claimed fifth place and the USA finished seventh.
Hosts Hong Kong lost the 11th place playoff to Brazil a day earlier.
