The All Blacks Sevens will be anxious to erase yesterday in Las Vegas from the memory banks after they crashed out of Cup contention and lost Sonny Bill Williams from next weekend's tournament in Vancouver.
So slick on day one, New Zealand scored only one try in two games in one of their darkest days on the sevens circuit. Kenya whitewashed them 22-0 in their final pool match, one of the flattest New Zealand displays in many moons. It was as though New Zealand had eaten an especially heavy breakfast, such was their lethargy.
There was a clear improvement and more commitment in the Cup quarter-final against South Africa, but there were still far too many errors in contact and in their long passing game. A first stanza double to Seabelo Senatla rocked them at 0-14 and, despite a Lewis Ormond try, Tim Mikkelson's men could not consistently threaten the line and were beaten 14-7.
Liam Messam had started this match, after being used sparingly off the bench in the pool games, but the All Black, in his first sevens outing in six years, could make little impact. It was felt his extra physicality could compensate for New Zealand's lack of top-end pace. But it was not to be.
