In an ironic quirk, the All Blacks Sevens finished fifth in the Vancouver leg of the World Series, despite losing two less games than in Las Vegas, where they placed fourth.
New Zealand won five and lost just once in Vancouver on the artificial turf, where they were the defending Cup champions. But that loss was a costly one, 14-12 to England in the quarter-finals, where they were strangely lacklustre and again profligate with possession.
They may have even finished as low as sixth were it not for a brilliant chip and regather try by replacement Vilimoni Koroi in the dying throes of the fifth place playoff against Argentina.
New Zealand started well against the South Americans, racing to a 12-0 lead via tries to Beaudein Waaka and Isaac Te Tamaki before Argentina mounted a serious comeback. At 14-12 down, time almost up and deep in their half, New Zealand looked forlorn, but Koroi sparked up with an instinctive play, which he had shown several times in Vancouver, a chip and regather.
"It's a tough one to assess. We only lost one game all tournament, which I think is the first time that's happened for us. To see us lose to England, and then see them in the Cup final was tough, but we didn't play South Africa, Fiji or the USA, so it's hard to judge (where we are at)," says New Zealand coach Scott Waldrom.
