New Zealand victorious at Wellington sevens

12.30am

New Zealand won the Wellington sevens rugby final against England 38-26 Saturday evening following a dramatic semifinal win over Fiji earlier in the day.

Tafai Ioasa scored three tries for New Zealand with Roy Kinikinilau contributing two and Anthony Tuitavake one.

Henry Paul, Ugo Monye, Ben Gollings, and Phil Dowson were the try scorers for England.

New Zealand led 17-14 at half time.

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens described the result as "magnificent" and said the result was a testament to his players' desire to perform in front of their home crowd.

"We've won a lot overseas but there's lots and lots of pressure here. There was so much expectation, it's unbelievable," he told NZPA.

"It was a great final, lots of good tries and it went right down to the wire.

"That final try of Anthony Tuitavake really sealed it."

Tietjens praised his entire team but was especially delighted with the performance of the more recent additions to his squad such as 18-year-old Liam Messam, Nathaniel Walker and Kinikinilau.

He also singled out 38-year-old captain Eric Rush for praise. Victory in Wellington was one of the few titles to elude Rush.

"He (Rush) just commands huge respect. He leads with his experience on the field and you can't ask for more than that," Tietjens said.

"It may be, it may not be Rushie's swansong. For a couple of them, they may not be back here again so to win it like we did was just magnificent."

A beaming Rush said he would play out the rest of this year's world series before deciding whether to continue next year.

New Zealand extended their lead after four rounds of the 11-leg series. They have 68 points, with Fiji on 56 and England leapfrogging Australia into third place on 46.

Cup:

Quarterfinals:

New Zealand 21 (Nathaniel Walker 2, Eric Rush tries; Amasio Valence 3 con) Samoa 19 (Gaolo Elisara, Ron Fanuatanu, Ponali Tapelu tries; Fa'atonu Fili 2 con). Halftime: 14-5.

Fiji 26 (Sireli Bobo 2, Jone Daunivucu, Sailoso tries; Nasoni Rokobiau 3 con) Argentina 5 (Federico Martin Armaburu try). Halftime: 19-0.

Australia 24 (Peter Hewat 3, Brock James tries; Chris Yates 2 con) France 7 (Laurent Diaz try; Martial Molinier con). Halftime: 19-0.

England 17 (Tony Roques, Phil Dowson, Ugo Monye tries; Ben Gollings con) South Africa 7 (Marius Schoeman try; Earl Rose con). Halftime: 10-7.

Semifinals:

New Zealand 24 (Roy Kinikinilau 2, Anthony Tuitavake, Tafai Ioasa tries; Amasio Valence 2 con) Fiji 22 (Sailosi Naiteqe 2, Raymond Rodan, Sireli Bobo tries; Nasoni Rokobiau con). Halftime: 12-12.

England 21 (Magnus Lund, Ben Gollings, Richard Haughton tries; Gollings 3 con) Australia 15 (Brock James, Tom Carter, Peter Hewat tries;). Halftime: 7-10.

Final:

New Zealand 38 (Tafai Ioasa 3, Roy Kinikinilau 2, Anthony Tuitavake tries; Nathaniel Walker 3 con, Amosio Valence con) England 26 (Henry Paul, Ugo Monye, Ben Gollings, Phil Dowson tries; Gollings 3 con). Halftime: 17-14.

Plate:

Semifinals:

Samoa 17 Argentina 14

France 22 South Africa 12

Final:

Samoa 39 France 5

Bowl:

Quarterfinals:

Cook Islands 20 Tonga 14

Canada 38 China 0

Niue 25 Japan 0

United States 28 Papua New Guinea 7


Semifinals:

Canada 31 Cook Islands 5

Niue 20 United States 17

Final:

Canada 47 Niue 5.

Shield:

Semifinals:

Tonga 41 China 0

Japan 29 Papua New Guinea 7.

Final:

Tonga 29 Japan 26

- NZPA