A rejuvenated New Zealand are banking on experience and brawn to continue their winning streak when the third round of the world rugby sevens series starts today.
The reigning world champions are undefeated after two rounds and coach Gordon Tietjens is keen to reignite the momentum following an eight-week break since winning back-to-back tournaments in Dubai and South Africa.
"Wellington is a huge tournament for the fans as well as the team and that is why I have selected an experienced side," he said.
"We got our new campaign off to a winning start in December and the challenge is to continue that momentum in front of our home supporters," Tietjens said.
New Zealand have not won their home tournament since pulling off a hat-trick of wins from 2003-2005, with Fiji and Samoa winning in the past two years.
Samoa, who beat Fiji 17-14 in last year's final for their only win in the eight years of the sevens series, play New Zealand in the final pool A game tonight.
Tournament second seeds Fiji headline pool B, which also contains England, with South Africa and Australia the front runners in pool C and Argentina and Tonga in pool D.
The only change to the intimidating New Zealand side which won in Dubai and South Africa is the inclusion of Tafai Ioasa to bolster the forwards after missing the first two tournaments through injury.
Tietjens has plumped for size over pace and New Zealand captain DJ Forbes said they will make the most of it.
"We have still got some speedsters, but I think with New Zealand's sevens rugby, whenever we've been good in contact and in confrontation we've done well," he said.
Forward Steven Yates said New Zealand are sticking to the same formula which saw them pull off vital wins at London and Edinburgh last year to secure the 2006-2007 title.
"What we've noticed is that if our defense is going really well, and we're going forward there, other teams don't flow as well. We can get in and upset them, Yates said.
"At the moment that's probably our main focus and attack takes care of itself," he said.
New Zealand, averaging 31 tries per tournament, need only 21 more to become the first team to score 2,000 since the world sevens series began.
England's Ben Gollings needs only nine conversions to better the benchmark of 457 set by Fijian great Waisale Serevi.
Gollings is also in a battle with South African Fabian Juries for second place on the all-time try scoring list headed by Argentina's Santiago Gomez Cora with 177. Juries has 144 to 143 for Gollings.
Pools:
Pool A: New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Papua New Guinea;
Pool B: Fiji, England, Wales, Cook Islands;
Pool C: South Africa, Kenya, Australia, France;
Pool D: Argentina, Scotland, United States, Tonga.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS