Brady Rush's disallowed try handed Argentina the Hamilton Sevens title.
Photo / Getty Images
Brady Rush's disallowed try handed Argentina the Hamilton Sevens title.
Photo / Getty Images
Brady Rush is still pretty shocked at having a match-winning try ruled out but feels the All Blacks Sevens side is not too far away from winning.
The Northland Taniwha utility back had a chance to win the Hamilton Sevens final on Sunday with a touchdown at the tryline off a grubber kick, but the television match official (TMO) ruled he had lost contact of the ball while attempting to ground it.
The decision sent Argentina players and coaches into a frenzy as the South Americans spoiled the party for the home side, winning 14-12.
However, there was no such heartbreak for the Black Ferns Sevens, featuring star wing Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Tyla Nathan-Wong, as New Zealand thrashed the United States 33-7 to cap off a superb weekend, with the team scoring 225 points and conceding just 19.
Rush, son of New Zealand Sevens legend Eric Rush, was upbeat yesterday despite the agonising loss.
“It was close but wasn’t close enough. I am still pretty shocked but we’ve got another tournament in Sydney this weekend and hopefully we do better there.”
Reflecting on the TMO’s decision, he said: “I probably should have used both hands. But it was good to play in front of whānau and friends. Mum and dad were there. They were happy, although we were pretty unlucky not to get the win.”
Rush said Argentina was always going to be physical and the side have good athletes that could match any team on their day. Other teams like France, he said, were also improving on the World Sevens Series.
Rush said there was not too much to work on ahead of the Sydney Sevens as there was a pretty good buzz in the team in terms of how they wanted to play.
In the women’s final on Sunday, sevens powerhouse Woodman-Wickliffe and Nathan-Wong helped the Black Ferns thrash United States 33-7 to cap off a superb weekend with the team scoring 225 points and conceding just 19.
Star winger Woodman-Wickliffe returned to the field against Fiji after missing the first match against Papua New Guinea. The Hamilton World Series event was her first in the black jersey after the Women’s Rugby World Cup in October last year.
Northland's Portia Woodman was instrumental in the Black Ferns' Hamilton Sevens victory.
Photo / Laszlo Geczo
In the Cup final, Michaela Blyde scored a hat-trick while Australia claimed bronze, thanks to a 33-17 victory over Ireland.
The Black Ferns Sevens reached the final after a 43-12 win over Japan in the quarter-final and a convincing 32-0 defeat of Ireland in the semifinals.
New Zealand now leads the women’s World Series standings on 58 points with bronze-medal-winning Australia second on 54 points and USA third on 50 points.
In the men’s competition, New Zealand leads the standings on 63 points with the USA second on 61 points and Argentina third on 59 points.
The disallowed try put a dampener on Rush’s teammates Joe Webber and Regan Ware’s milestones of 50 tournaments in front of their home crowd.
Webber also had the ignominy of being yellow-carded in the final for a dangerous tackle near the New Zealand tryline.
In the men’s Cup final Argentina fought back from 12-0 down to win a breathtaking encounter.
In the first half, New Zealand took the lead despite Webber’s yellow card, when they were down to six men. Had the Argentinian ball carrier not dipped in the tackle, a red card awaited Webber.
Akuila Rokolisoa drew first blood and, when Webber came back on from the naughty chair, new find Roderick Solo scored the second try just before halftime.
Rokolisoa converted and it was 12-0 at the interval.
A strong pep-talk at the break by Argentina coach Santiago Gomez Cora galvanised the Pumas and converted tries to Santiago Alvarez and Marcos Moneta followed.
New Zealand now have a bronze and two silvers from four events, to lead the series standings.
The series moves to Sydney this weekend. The All Blacks Sevens are in pool B alongside South Africa, Kenya and Uruguay.
