Kiwis celebrate Sevens crown in style

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New Zealand wrapped up a 13th men’s World Sevens Series title in Toulouse and followed that up with a dramatic win against Argentina in the cup final on Sunday.

Heading into the penultimate tournament of the 2022-23 Series, the All Blacks Sevens knew they would secure the overall title if they reached the cup final, where the Kiwis triumphed with a come-from-behind 24-19 extra-time victory.

German Schulz, Agustin Fraga and Marcos Moneta all crossed the whitewash to give Los Pumas a 19-7 lead at the break.

Akuila Rokolisoa narrowed the deficit with a try before Man of the Match Roderick Solo levelled the scores, sending the match into golden point extra time.

And it was left to Solo to produce the moment of magic that secured the title in Toulouse, drifting across the turf before producing an outrageous finish in the right corner.

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“I didn’t plan that,” Solo said post match. “We got a move to crash midfield, but it came from nowhere and I just had to go for the corner and hope for the best.”

All Blacks skipper Sam Dickson added: “So proud of the boys to come back again in extra time and show that ticker we’ve had all season and top-off our World Series. This victory means a lot to everyone.”

It was double delight for New Zealand at Stade Ernest-Wallon, as women’s team fought back from 14-0 down to win their sixth successive Series tournament title. The Black Ferns Sevens had already made sure of a seventh overall Series title thanks to their results on day one.

The home crowd was also given something to cheer earlier on day three of the tournament as France beat Canada 28-12 to win the bronze final. The hosts were an errant pass away from beating New Zealand in the semi-finals, but went down 19-14 at the death.

Earlier, Australia put some distance between themselves and those chasing the final Olympic qualification place with a 26-21 victory against Ireland in the fifth-placed playoff.

It means Australia retain the fourth and final qualifying spot ahead of the season finale at Twickenham next weekend, and head to London with a nine-point cushion on Samoa and South Africa, in sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Photo: HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series website

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