After being run down in the final of Las Vegas instalment last weekend against the Flying Fijians, Australia looked like they would have to settle for fourth place after falling behind 12-0, but a spirited fightback, despite a number of key injuries, saw them claim their third consecutive top-three finish under new coach Andy Friend.
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“We struggled last week in Vegas with the new team, getting our combinations together but this week we really wanted to go better and I am just so pleased we won the final because it has been a hard week”, New Zealand captain Tim Mikkelson said after the final.
UPDATED 3.10PM The All Blacks Sevens have been crowned the inaugural Vancouver Sevens Champions with a 19-14 win over South Africa in the grand final.
But an exquisite catch from Sam Dickson straight from the restart provided the prelude to back-to-back tries, with New Zealand then maintaining its narrow lead until the final whistle.
South Africa struck first, with Rosko Specman speeding through for a try despite the fact that it appeared Kurt Baker had managed to hold him.
Australia had beaten New Zealand just once in their last 20 outings, a sign that even though they have shown glimpses of the form which could earn them a medal in Rio, their inability to get one over their trans-Tasman rivals could be their Achilles heel in tournaments to come.
He kicked a vital goal to give Australia the lead late, but also dropped the ball in space to hand Fiji a late first-half try.
With Australia’s stirring comeback, the individual brilliance of Molia was the difference.
Second-placed South Africa were equally authoritative in beating Scotland 43-0, Brazil 26-7 and Argentina 27-0 in Pool C, and will play Wales in their quarter-final.
The next world series sevens tournament is in Hong Kong on April 8-10.
South Africa, known as the “blitzbokke”, are second on 105 points after collecting 19 for their efforts at BC Place, where 60,418 fans attended over the two days.
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So, that sets up the other Cup semi-final, with New Zealand taking on Australia at 12.30am SA time on Monday morning.
