New Zealand Rugby congratulates All Blacks Sevens on 12th World Series win

May 12 • General News, International, Sevens Rugby, Sevens World Series • 2477 Views • Comments Off on New Zealand Rugby congratulates All Blacks Sevens on 12th World Series win

The All Blacks Sevens are the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series champions for the 12th time and for the fourth successive year after winning the London Sevens at Twickenham, the ninth and last tournament of the series.

The All Blacks Sevens rounded off an impressive season with their fifth Cup victory, storming to a 52-33 win over Australia in the highest ever scoring match in a World Series Cup Final.

“This is a magnificent achievement by a team which has excelled in every tournament this season,” said New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Steve Tew.

London marked the third successive victory this season following Hong Kong and Glasgow. New Zealand also picked up wins in Gold Coast at the start of the season and Wellington, heading off second place South Africa by 28 points. They finished fourth or higher in every tournament and effectively claimed their 12th title on Saturday by making the London quarterfinals in front of a 74,969 record-crowd at Twickenham.

“The team has a proud record of consistency which is remarkable in a series where the competition is getting tougher every year as we build towards Rio in 2016.

“We congratulate Coach Sir Gordon Tietjens, the rest of the management team, Captain DJ Forbes and all the players who pulled on the black jersey this season. You have all done your country proud.

“We wish the team all the best for their next challenge at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.”

Captain DJ Forbes and Scott Curry were named in the Series Dream Team. Wellington back Ambrose Curtis in his first year with the team won the Rookie of the Year Award, the first time the award has been given in the series.

“DJ has been simply outstanding on and off the field as a player and a leader and he is a wonderful ambassador for the game. Congratulations also to Ambrose for stepping up so well in his debut season,” said Tew.

Tim Mikkelson was also nominated for Player of the Year, an award he won last year. This year’s title was claimed by Fijian speedster Samisoni Viriviri.

“Tim is an incredibly consistent high performer in the pressure cooker world of sevens. He has turned out in every tournament this season, as he did last season, which really underlines why he is seen as one of the best players in the game.”

Final 2013/14 IRB Sevens World Series standings (top 6): 1. New Zealand (180 World Series points), 2. South Africa (152 points), 3. Fiji (144 points), 4. England (134 points), 5. Australia (116 points), 6. Canada (90 points)