WELLINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand reasserted their dominance of rugby sevens by clinching a ninth title in 12 versions of the world series with a round to spare in London at the weekend.
Reaching the semi-final of the seventh leg of the tour at
Twickenham on Sunday proved sufficient for the New Zealanders to reclaim the title after two years when South Africa and then Samoa interrupted their run of success.
New Zealand were hammered 42-19 in the semi-finals by Fiji and South Africa went on to beat the Pacific islanders 24-14 to win the London leg.
"We didn't play as well as we had previously and that might be due to the massive break between tournaments so we were probably feeling a little rusty," coach Gordon Tietjens said in a New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) news release. "But the guys have put in a lot of hard work, and they can hold their heads high. We're really pleased to come away with the series, and I'm very proud of the team."
The shorter version of rugby union will make its Olympic debut at the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil.
Reaching the semi-final of the seventh leg of the tour at
Twickenham on Sunday proved sufficient for the New Zealanders to reclaim the title after two years when South Africa and then Samoa interrupted their run of success.
New Zealand were hammered 42-19 in the semi-finals by Fiji and South Africa went on to beat the Pacific islanders 24-14 to win the London leg.
"We didn't play as well as we had previously and that might be due to the massive break between tournaments so we were probably feeling a little rusty," coach Gordon Tietjens said in a New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) news release. "But the guys have put in a lot of hard work, and they can hold their heads high. We're really pleased to come away with the series, and I'm very proud of the team."
The shorter version of rugby union will make its Olympic debut at the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil.
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