New Zealand produce stunning comeback against South Africa to win Wellington Sevens
Sunday 31 January 2016 14:59, UK
New Zealand produced a remarkable comeback to defeat South Africa 24-21 in the final of the Wellington Sevens.
Two errors from Sonny Bill Williams, who was making his Sevens debut in the tournament, helped hand the Blitzboks a 21-7 lead heading into the closing stages of the match at the Westpac Stadium.
However, two tries from Rieko Ioane brought the home side back into contention with just minutes remaining.
Joe Webber then crossed over the line well after the final buzzer had sounded to seal a memorable win for the hosts.
The victory, New Zealand's fifth triumph in the last six tournaments at Wellington, moves them up from seventh to third in the World Rugby Seven Series standings with 47 points - seven behind leaders South Africa.
"All week, we talked about how we needed a lot of heart and a lot of ticker," said All Blacks captain Tim Mikkelson following the match.
"Liam Messam came back from Japan and talked about putting the pride back in the jersey after the last couple of tournaments, and that's what we did.
"We talked about securing the kick-offs and we bumbled a few and put ourselves under pressure but we knew if we could keep the ball in hand, we could win."
Williams is targeting a place in the inaugural Olympics Sevens in Rio and was satisfied with his winning start.
"I know that I will get better," said the 30-year-old. "I'm really pleased with how I went this weekend to tell you the truth.
"The pleasing thing is being able to be in an environment where, even though I'm a rookie, everyone wants to help you out. I've come into this weekend taking it as a massive learning experience and I'm just grateful to be playing in such a talented side."
New Zealand had earlier beaten Kenya 33-0 in the quarter-finals and England 22-5 in the semi-finals, while South Africa defeated Australia 26-14 and Fiji 31-0.
South Africa now lead the series standings by two points from Fiji who beat England 24-12 in the play-off for third place.
Elsewhere, Australia won the Plate with a 21-5 win over Argentina, Samoa won the Bowl by beating Scotland 19-7 and France lifted the Shield with a 14-7 victory over Russia.
Live HSBC Sevens World Series
