Black Ferns Sevens have won the HSBC New Zealand Sevens women’s title for the second time and the All Blacks Sevens came within a whisker of making it a home-town double in front of nearly 20,000 fans at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton
The Black Ferns produced a committed team defensive effort to beat USA 33-7 in the women’s final, helped along by a hat-trick of tries to wing Michaela Blyde, while the All Blacks Sevens fell agonisingly short in a 14-12 loss to Argentina in a dramatic men’s final.
The results lifted the Black Ferns Sevens and All Blacks Sevens to the top of the respective HSBC World Sevens Series women’s and men’s points tables as the series heads to Sydney next weekend, and farewell’s New Zealand for the foreseeable future.
Tournament Director Craig Morton heralded the success of the event, which has been a staple of the New Zealand sporting calendar since 2000, and in Hamilton since 2018.
“The HSBC New Zealand Sevens has provided incredible memories for tens of thousands of Kiwis and the 2023 delivered yet again. The players put on a show and we saw some amazing skill and athleticism across the weekend, but as always it was the fans who brought the energy and colour to the event. We’d like to say a massive thank you to all the people who have turned up and made it such a great occasion through the years.”
37South Managing Director and Tournament Promoter Dallas Fisher said it was a fitting finale after four hugely successful events in Hamilton since shifting north from Wellington in 2018.
“I’ve always said it’s much more than a sporting event and that’s because of the fans and the support of the community. The Black Ferns Sevens and All Blacks Sevens showed how much it means to them this weekend and once again we saw the festival zone pumping, the family area full of smiling kids, New Zealand and Fijian flags flying high, and some world class sevens.”
The Black Ferns were unstoppable at times as they accounted for Japan (43-12) in the quarterfinals and Ireland 32-0 in the semi-final before easing home against USA. It completed a perfect record in Hamilton for the Black Ferns who won the Fast 4 trophy in 2019 and the first HSBC World Series women’s tournament in New Zealand in 2020.
The All Blacks Sevens survived a tough quarterfinal against Ireland before emerging with a nail-biting 10-5 win, but had less concerns during a 36-0 semi-final win over France as they ran in six tries, including two each to Leroy Carter and Akuila Rokolisoa.
Argentina won the HSBC New Zealand Sevens for the first time after reaching the final for the first time since 2005 after earlier knocking Fiji out of the main draw in the quarterfinals (19-10), then accounting for USA (24-14) in the semi-finals.
Although Fiji bowed out of the main draw early, their large contingent of fans stuck around and continued to win friends in the stands with their positive and vocal support for all of the teams at the tournament.
Black Ferns Sevens Day 2 results
Quarterfinals: W 43-12 v Japan
Semi-finals: W 32-0 v Ireland
Final: W 33-7 v USA
All Blacks Sevens Day 2 results
Quarterfinals: W 10-5 v Ireland
Semi-finals: W 38-0 v France
Final: L 12-14 v Argentina
Full women’s results from the 2023 HSBC New Zealand Sevens can be found here
Full men’s results from the 2023 HSBC New Zealand Sevens can be found here
With thanks to New Zealand Rugby
