AUSTRALIA TAKES THIRD AT HAMILTON SEVENS

Feb 4 • General News, Sevens Rugby • 1575 Views • Comments Off on AUSTRALIA TAKES THIRD AT HAMILTON SEVENS

The Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens side have backed up their win last week in Sydney with a bronze medal in New Zealand at the HSBC Hamilton Sevens in New Zealand on Sunday with a trilling 8-7 win over New Zealand.

The side got off to the perfect start on finals day in Hamilton with a huge 33-12 win over day one surprise packets, Kenya to set-up a replay of the Sydney decider against South Africa.

In the Semi Final, Australia fought hard against their South African counterparts, trailing only 5-10 at the break, but the experience of the Blitzboks shone through as they took the Semi Final 5-24.

The Aussie 7s directed their attention to the third place play off against tournament hosts New Zealand. New Zealand led for the majority of the match until back to back penalties allowed Captain James Stannard to slot a drop goal to win the match 8-7 for the men in gold, making it back to back victories against their Kiwi rivals.

Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens Head Coach, Andy Friend said: “To beat them here (New Zealand) was a big moment for us and I was really, really proud of those boys.”

“We talk last week about belief, today we saw that belief again. We’ve probably seen it, smelled it for a while but you’ve got to produce it and this last fortnight has been a really special time for us.”

“I think the boys have now got that genuine belief that they can beat any team in the world. We’ve got to keep working, keep fighting, keep working hard and we’ll hopefully get those wins.”

Australia 33 defeated Kenya 12

Kenya dominated the opening stages with possession but clinical work at the breakdown from Sam Myers gave the Aussies their first taste of points which inspired a strong first half. Tom Lucas receiving the offload from Myers to score under the black dot. Lucas then turning provider just a minute later, spotting an unmarked John Porch on the wing, firing a superb cut out pass to send the speedster over in the corner. Porch and Lucas again combined through the midfield to help put Lachie Anderson away for his first of the day as the Aussies went out to a 19-0 lead. Things got worse for Kenya when they received a yellow card from the restart. The Australians capitalising on the one-man advantage to score twice more through Ben O’Donnell and Anderson to lead 33-0 at the break.

The second half saw livewire, Maurice Longbottom get his first minutes on finals day but just two minutes later he was forced off after his ankle got caught awkwardly in a tackle. The Kenyans coming out much stronger in the second stanza, scoring their first points in the tenth minute, moving the ball quickly to the edge, before another consolation try in the dying seconds. The quarter-final finishing 33-12 to the Australians.

Australia 5 defeated by South Africa 24

It was a tense start to the second Cup semi-final with the winner set to face Fiji in the final, the Aussies dealt a massive blow before kick-off with livewire Maurice Longbottom ruled out of the rest of the tournament with an ankle injury. Australia had some early ball but Stannard lost his footing on halfway with the pass popping up perfectly for South Africa, with Cecil Afrika benefitting off the next phase to give his side first blood. The South Africans took it up a notch after crossing the paint with sevens superstar Seabelo Senatla finishing off some slick passing to spring to the sideline to extend their lead to 10-0. Senatla turned villain just a minute later, a deliberate knockdown from the speedster, resulting in a yellow card. Australia, quick to pounce on the advantage with Tim Anstee crossing right on half time to send the team to the break down by just five.

The second half almost off to the perfect start for Australia, a string of mesmerising offloads followed by a knock-on saw them fall agonizingly five metres short from levelling the scores. South Africa making them pay for the mistake just seconds later going the length of the field after a charge-down ricocheted favourably for the side. Last season’s champions turning up the heat in the final minutes with superstar Kwagga Smith breaking the line to score the match-sealing try.

Australia 8 defeated New Zealand 7

It was Australia with all the possession and territory early as they went looking for first points in the bronze medal decider, but it was New Zealand with their first opportunity who hit the lead. Co-captain Scott Curry finishing a play off the back of a lineout inside the Australian’s defensive half. The rest of the first half was a real tussle with neither side giving an inch until Kurt Baker was yellow-carded right on the seven-minute mark leaving New Zealand with six either side of the break.

Sensing their opportunity, Australia shot out of the blocks in the second half with John Porch stealing a loose carry, before sprinting 20 metres to put the Aussies within two. It stayed 7-5 for the remainder of the match with the Aussies controlling the ball and territory over two minutes past the regulation time. A penalty 25 metres out, right in front giving skipper James Stannard the opportunity to kick a field goal to win the match, with the veteran making no mistake. The score finishing with Australia 8, New Zealand 7.

Hamilton Sevens Day Two results:

Quarter-final: Australia 33-12 Kenya

Semi-final: Australia 5-24 South Africa

Third-place playoff: Australia 8-7 New Zealand