KEY POINTS:
New Zealand held off a spirited England fightback to retain their Edinburgh sevens title with a 24-14 win in the final yesterday.
It brought the curtain down on a magnificent world series season in which New Zealand took the Hong Kong title for the first time since 2001.
They were unbeaten for 47 matches this season before South Africa ended their run in the final of the Adelaide leg.
In a physical match, New Zealand went out to a commanding 19-0 lead through tries by Solomon King, David Smith and Chad Tuoro but England hit back just before the break through wing Uche Oduoza to trail 19-7.
England enjoyed much of the possession in the second half.
Ollie Phillips slipped a tackle to bring the score back to 19-14 but New Zealand's renowned fitness, conditioning and peerless defence saw them home.
Captain DJ Forbes was an inspiration up front and the likes of Kendrick Lynn and David Smith proved that coach Gordon Tietjens has lost none of his knack for unearthing new sevens talent.
With the clock winding down, Nigel Hunt put the game beyond doubt for New Zealand, who have now won eight of the nine IRB Sevens world series titles under Tietjens.
In the quarter-finals, New Zealand produced a clinical and professional display to outclass Scotland 36-14, then beat Samoa 14-0 in the semifinals. England beat South Africa in the last eight clash then Wales 7-0 in their semifinal.
The results confirmed South Africa as the second place finisher in the series with 106 points behind New Zealand on 154 (from a possible 170), followed by Samoa on 100 points and Fiji with 94.
- NZPA
