NZ men, women keep double dream alive at Sevens
New Zealand’s men and women got the better of trans-Tasman rivals Australia at the Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday, setting the stage for a potential repeat victory for the 2023 champions in both competitions. In the men’s semi-final, New Zealand went ahead right at the start through Dylan Collier, only to see Australia go ahead through a converted Maurice Longbottom try. However Tepea Cook Savage restored New Zealand’s lead, converting his own try just before the break. From there, the defending champions never looked back, Cody Vai and Tong Ng Shiu going over to secure a 26-7 win. France, who won the previous tournament in Los Angeles, look set to provide a stern test in the final, however. They were convincing 26-10 winners over Ireland in the first semi-final. French full-back Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang said playing the last Hong Kong Sevens final at the Hong Kong Stadium was a thrilling prospect. “It feels unreal to get to a final in this iconic stadium, that’s the stuff of dreams,” he told RTHK’s Jamie Clarke. “I’m super-excited. There is this energy. Everyone speaks about it because it’s true. There is this energy that the stadium breathes, and we all feel it when we play here.” Varian Pasquet, Stephen Parez Edo Martin, Antoine Zeghdar and Joachim Troubal sealed it, with Ireland responding through Zac Ward and Terry Kennedy. New Zealand’s women also kept their dreams of a repeat victory alive with a hard-fought 28-14 victory over trans-Tasman rivals Australia in the semi-final. The Australians went ahead through Maddison Levi’s early converted try before Michaela Blyde leveled it. Charlotte Caslick then burst away to score under the posts for Australia, only to see New Zealand level it just before half time through Risi Pouri-Lane. New Zealand took the lead through Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (converted) before a late, converted try from Jorja Miller capped the win. The US women were the first team to claim a place in the final. An early converted try by Alev Kelter put them ahead before Chloe Jacquet put five points on the board for the French. With the conversion missed, the Americans took a grip on the game, with tries from Ilona Maher (converted) and Jaz Gray. “This time last year in Hong Kong we didn’t have a great outcome and we’ve been kind of playing on that,” US skipper Laura Doyle told RTHK’s Jamie Clarke. “How can we stay in the fight. How can we change history. We really found that determination inside of us.” Hong Kong’s men and women are in action in the afternoon as they contest the finals of the new Melrose Claymore tournament for Asia’s top teams. The Hong Kong, China woman take on China, who they beat on Friday in the pool stage. The man face Japan, who beat them on Saturday. The new format for international Sevens mean the traditional Plate, Bowl and Shield competitions are replaced by play-offs for the minor places. Spain’s women beat South Africa 17-14 to avoid the wooden spoon, Great Britain beat Brazil 14-5 to secure ninth and Japan edged Ireland 12-5 for seventh.  On the men’s side, Britain beat Canada 26-17 to avoid finishing last before Argentina blanked Samoa 42-0 for ninth. The US beat Spain 19-17 to finish seventh.