England lose out in Hong Kong
England lose out in Hong Kong
©Ian Jackson
The England Sevens team lost in the final of one of the world’s most famous sevens tournaments – the Hong Kong Sevens – 26-7 to New Zealand, who have now moved back to the top of the HSBC World Sevens Series standings.
In the seventh round of the HSBC Sevens World Series, it was the New Zealanders who lifted the Cathay Pacific title in Hong Kong.
The win, inspired by Captain DJ Forbes, puts them back on top of the series standings – seven points ahead of South Africa who won the Plate final, with Fiji a further 17 points behind having finished third as the defending champions.
“It is a great feeling," said an elated Gordon Tietjen.
"My captain lead so well from the front, he was simply amazing. And also the other players linked in with him, we played a good final.
“That puts us back on top now, it’s topsy-turvy now which means we need to start well in Scotland, but this will certainly help in going towards winning that title."
The All Blacks outscored their opponents by four tries to one and celebrated by stripping down to their chests and performing the Haka in the torrential downpour in Hong Kong.
The All Blacks led 12-7 at half-time and added a further 14 points despite having Ben Lam sin-binned.
Elsewhere, Wales lost 19-14 to South Africa in the Plate final, while Scotland beat France 31-5 in the Bowl final.
England reached the final with a 17-7 victory over Fiji in the semi-final but were always second best against New Zealand.
The All Blacks pounced on seven first-half errors by England to open a decisive half-time lead with Lam and Tim Mikkelson going over before Tom Powell replied for England with a converted try.
DJ Forbes and Sam Dickson underlined the All Blacks' dominance with further tries in the second half as England tired.
England were denied a consolation try in the last minute when Marcus Watson ran 80 yards to the line, but it was ruled out for a forward pass.
New Zealand's win means they have regained top spot in the Sevens World Series standings from second-placed South Africa, with Fiji third and England fourth. The series heads to Glasgow next for the Scottish Sevens on 3-4 May.
