New Zealand clinch world sevens crown
New Zealand retained their Sevens World Series title, ending the season with a third-place spot at the London Sevens to finish on 167 Series points, six ahead of closest rivals Fiji. A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season. The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand's three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game. Fiji beat New Zealand 31-7 in the semi-finals before seeing off Samoa 38-15 in the final. The New Zealanders had sealed a 10th Series title in 13 years with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa. Despite losing to Fiji in the semi-final, the Kiwis then claimed third-place with a 40-0 triumph over Argentina. "It's an awesome feeling," New Zealand's long-serving coach Gordon Tietjens said. "I was worried last night because we played very sketchily against Argentina. I woke up at four o'clock this morning and didn't get back to sleep but we played very well today. We're very happy."
