HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2015 – 2016: Wellington Sevens – New Zealand win… all the Results

Published 31 January 2016 | By grootblousmile

World Rugby Sevens SeriesThe 3rd leg of the 2015 / 2016 season (1st tournament of 2016) took place in Wellington, New Zealand on 30 & 31 January 2016.

Defending champions New Zealand won the Final, once again against South Africa’s Blitzbokke, by 24 / 21 after trailing till deep into the dying seconds of the match.

It was an epic Final, with New Zealand’s never say die attitude, winning it in the end for them. It was the 2nd time on the weekend that South Africa could not close out a game against New Zealand where they were well in front and deservingly so, near the end.

 

Day 1:

Hosts and defending champions New Zeland won all 3 of their matches on Day 1 of the HSBC Wellington Sevens to march into the quarterfinals after dramatically beating South Africa’s Blitzbokke 19 / 14 in the last match of the day.

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series leaders Fiji and Australia also maintained 100% records with impressive displays at the Westpac Stadium, as the 3rd Round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series continued to entertain.

The All Blacks Sevens, who have won 4 of their last 5 home tournaments, came from 7 / 0 behind to beat Cape Town Sevens champions South Africa by 19 / 14. 2 Akira Ioane breaks, the 1st to set up Sam Dickson, gave New Zealand a 12 / 7 lead before Cheslin Kolbe looked to have given the Blitzboks the win. But a trademark Sonny Bill Williams offload gave Joe Webber the chance to dot down under the posts for the home side to finish top of Pool A.

On a day where Williams made his international sevens debut and scored a try with his 1st touch, Sir Gordon Tietjens’ side will now meet Kenya in the quarterfinals, a repeat of the dramatic semifinal from 2 years ago in which Oscar Ouma scored in sudden-death extra-time to put the African side into the final.

 

Day 2:

Joe Webber snatched a dramatic victory for the hosts and defending champions in Wellington, New Zealand, a 24 / 21 win over South Africa, in the 3rd Round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at the Westpac Stadium.

The All Blacks Sevens came from 14 / 0 and 21 / 7 behind to dramatically beat South Africa 24 / 21 in the Cup Final of the HSBC Wellington Sevens.

The win sees Sir Gordon Tietjens’ team move from 7th to 3rd in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings with 47 points, 5 behind Fiji who finished 3rd at the Westpac Stadium and 7 behind the Blitzbokke, who are on 54 Log points.

There were enthralling scenes in Wellington as the hosts snatched victory at the death to claim a hat-trick of Wellington titles and a 5th in 6 years thanks to a match-winning try from Joe Webber. New Zealand kept the ball and their composure after the buzzer had sounded to cap a remarkable comeback, similar to that of their 19 / 14 pool victory over Neil Powell’s side at the end of Day 1.

“All week we talked about how we needed a lot of heart and a lot of ticker,” said captain Tim Mikkelson. “Liam Messam came back from Japan and talked about putting the pride back in the jersey after the last couple of tournaments, and that’s what we did. We talked about securing the kick-offs and we bumbled a few and put ourselves under pressure but we knew if we coud keep the ball in hand we could win.”

In the semifinals Cheslin Kolbe scored 2 tries to help Neil Powell’s side cruise to a 31 / 0 win over Fiji, while Ben Lam also scored 2 as the hosts New Zealand booked their place in the Final with a win over England.

 

Plate Final: Australia beat Argentina:

Next weekend’s hosts, Australia (in Sydney), won the Plate with a 21 / 5 win over Argentina.

 

Bowl Final: Samoa too strong for Scotland:

Samoa dispatched Scotland without too much trouble to win the Bowl, winning by 19 / 7. Samoa’s Phoenix Hunapo-Nofoa turned Scotland’s Mark Robertson inside and out with another trademark step to score the opening try. Samoa scored 2 turnover tries in the 2nd half. with Tomasi Alosio the 1st to scoot over from the base of the ruck on the 10-minute mark. Danny Tusitala followed his lead a few minutes later after the Pacific Islanders turned defence into attack. Scotland had the last say however when Gavin Lowe dotted down with the clock in red.

 

Shield Final: France grab some silverware against Russia:

France won the Shield after beating Russia 14 / 7. Captain Steeve Barry got the French off to a great start, picking the ball up at the base of the ruck after a good weaving run from Julien Candelon to score the game’s 1st try. Moments later, 35-year-old Candelon crossed the line himself with Arthur Retiere supplying the extras. Russia almost got back into the game after halftime but Vladimir Sozonov failed to ground the ball properly. Vladimir Lazarenko’s score 3 minutes later was too little too late.

 

Results – Day 1:

30 January 2016
24 New Zealand 19 – 14 South Africa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
23 Scotland 19 – 17 Russia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
22 Kenya 12 – 17 Australia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
21 Canada 42 – 7 Portugal Westpac Stadium, Wellington
20 Argentina 10 – 31 Fiji Westpac Stadium, Wellington
19 Wales 33 – 28 Japan Westpac Stadium, Wellington
18 France 21 – 29 USA Westpac Stadium, Wellington
17 England 14 – 17 Samoa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
16 New Zealand 27 – 7 Scotland Westpac Stadium, Wellington
15 South Africa 54 – 0 Russia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
14 Australia 26 – 22 Canada Westpac Stadium, Wellington
13 Kenya 26 – 5 Portugal Westpac Stadium, Wellington
12 Fiji 33 – 7 Wales Westpac Stadium, Wellington
11 Argentina 31 – 14 Japan Westpac Stadium, Wellington
10 USA 5 – 19 England Westpac Stadium, Wellington
9 France 28 – 12 Samoa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
8 New Zealand 38 – 7 Russia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
7 South Africa 28 – 5 Scotland Westpac Stadium, Wellington
6 Australia 19 – 12 Portugal Westpac Stadium, Wellington
5 Kenya 31 – 7 Canada Westpac Stadium, Wellington
4 Fiji 45 – 7 Japan Westpac Stadium, Wellington
3 Argentina 19 – 12 Wales Westpac Stadium, Wellington
2 USA 24 – 20 Samoa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
1 France 14 – 17 England Westpac Stadium, Wellington

 

Results – Day 2:

31 January 2016
45 New Zealand 24 – 21 South Africa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
44 England 12 – 24 Fiji Westpac Stadium, Wellington
43 Scotland 7 – 19 Samoa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
42 Argentina 5 – 21 Australia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
41 France 14 – 7 Russia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
40 South Africa 31 – 0 Fiji Westpac Stadium, Wellington
39 New Zealand 25 – 0 England Westpac Stadium, Wellington
38 Australia 17 – 5 USA Westpac Stadium, Wellington
37 Kenya 14 – 35 Argentina Westpac Stadium, Wellington
36 Canada 7 – 26 Samoa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
35 Scotland 31 – 26 Japan Westpac Stadium, Wellington
34 Russia 17 – 0 Wales Westpac Stadium, Wellington
33 Portugal 17 – 22 France Westpac Stadium, Wellington
32 Fiji 21 – 12 USA Westpac Stadium, Wellington
31 Australia 14 – 26 South Africa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
30 England 33 – 7 Argentina Westpac Stadium, Wellington
29 New Zealand 36 – 0 Kenya Westpac Stadium, Wellington
28 Wales 24 – 29 Samoa Westpac Stadium, Wellington
27 Canada 35 – 12 Russia Westpac Stadium, Wellington
26 France 14 – 19 Japan Westpac Stadium, Wellington
25 Scotland 29 – 12 Portugal Westpac Stadium, Wellington

 

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