New Zealand romped to victory in both the women’s and men’s finals of the HSBC Sydney Sevens to increase their leads at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Seven Series 2023 standings. It is the first time the teams in black have achieved such a tournament double since Hamilton in 2020.
The 2023 Series is proving to be the most competitive in history with five different winners, Argentina, Australia, Samoa, South Africa and now New Zealand, in the five men’s tournaments played so far.
The prize of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualification on offer for the top four women’s and men’s teams in the 2023 Series standings means every match counts, while hosts France have pre-qualified for next summer’s pinnacle event in the nation’s capital.
The stakes couldn’t be higher at the bottom end of the men’s Series this season as well. Following the penultimate event in Toulouse, the 15th-ranked team will be relegated to the 2024 Sevens Challenger Series while the 12th through 14th ranked teams will face off against the Sevens Challenger Series 2023 winner for the 12th and final position on the 2024 Series.
The 2023 Series continues with a men’s round in Los Angeles on 25-26 February, while the women are next in action in a combined event in Vancouver on 3-5 March.
The Springbok Sevens team moved into the second position on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series log after their silver medal finishes at the HSBC Sydney Sevens, the fifth of 10 tournaments, but Blitzbok coach Sandile Ngcobo said their 38-0 defeat to New Zealand in the final game soured their weekend.
It was a disappointing end to the tournament in which South Africa won five consecutive games, including beating the All Blacks Sevens in pool play on Saturday and a good win over Fiji in the semi-finals.
Ricardo Duarttee was the leading points scorer for the Blitzboks with 34 points, while Shilton van Wyk led the try-scoring stakes, dotting down six times, while Dalvon Blood and Baron bagged three tries each.
Duarttee (13) also made the most tackles this weekend, followed by Van Wyk (11), Blood and Davids (10 each).
World Series standings after five tournaments:
1 New Zealand – 85 points
2 South Africa – 76
3 Samoa – 68
4 France – 68
5 Fiji – 67
6 Argentina – 67
7 USA – 66
8 Australia – 62
9 Ireland – 58
10 Great Britain – 35
