Valence sin bin sees NZ 7s fall short

New Zealand Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens lashed out at playmaker Amasio Valence after his side crashed out in the semi finals of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens.

New Zealand was beaten 22-12 by Fiji and had to play two minutes of the match with six men after Valence was sin binned for a reckless tackle. Fiji went onto lose the final 26-21 to England.

"I'm really disappointed in Amasio Valence," Tietjens lamented. "I mean it's twice now (he was also sin binned against Australia in pool play) and just a lack of discipline."

Tietjens was irate that such an experienced player could cost the team so much.

"You can't play teams like Fiji with six men and it really cost us. He just took someone off the ball and you can't get away with that now," Tietjens said.

That incident aside, New Zealand was outclassed by Fiji and Tietjens had no complaints. "Under pressure we made a few mistakes and when we got the ball back after scoring we knocked on a simple ball in midfield and that really cost us as well," Tietjens said.

New Zealand looked the best side in the tournament, cruising through pool play and then disposing of Scotland 31-0 in the quarter finals.

New Zealand possess speed aplenty with Chiefs flyer Sosene Anesi and 18-year-old Sherwin Stowers but the side which had been so composed on attack in earlier matches wasn't able to provide the space for Anesi against Fiji. Anesi will play in next weekend's South African sevens in George before returning to the Chiefs.

Tietjens will have a hard job replacing Anesi - who bagged two of the side's five tries against Scotland in the quarter-finals - for the Wellington and Los Angeles sevens in February. Stowers, with a bit more experience, may be ready to step up.

He is raw and didn't see much game time in Dubai but, when he did get on the field, he scored three tries against the Arabian Gulf and dazzled the crowd with his silky footwork and speed.