All Blacks Sevens beat Australia in thriller after heavy Fiji loss

The All Blacks Sevens were eliminated from title contention at SVNS Cape Town with a heavy 35-5 loss to Fiji on Saturday, but they bounced back in style on day two with a hard-fought 28-21 win over arch-rivals Australia.

New Zealand started their campaign in the Western Cape with a clinical 29-12 victory against Great Britain, with Frank Vaenuku starring with two tries in that Pool A fixture. The All Blacks Sevens lost an all-time classic to the Blitzboks later on day one, setting up a must-win pool stage finale.

With the new HSBC SVNS Series format sending the top two teams from each pool directly to the semi-finals, the All Blacks Sevens’ hopes of sevens glory in Cape Town hinged on a clash with traditional rivals Fiji at DHL Stadium.

Fiji put on a clinical performance, running away with a 30-point triumph.  New Zealand turned their focus to a fifth-place semi-final against Australia, which pitted the two finalists from last weekend’s Dubai Sevens against one another.

Jayden Keelan has grown in confidence with every match on the SVNS Series to start the 2025/26 season, with the speedster racing away for the opener inside the first minute. Keelan placed the ball down 51 seconds in the match, before knocking over the extras from in front.

Scott Gregory reaped the rewards of some more Keelan magic about one minute later. Keelan almost scored what would’ve been his second, but got an offload off to Gregory, who crossed for his second-ever try on the world’s premier sevens circuit.

New Zealand were in complete control up until that point, but Ben Dowling helped Australia wrestle back some of the match’s momentum with an effort in the fifth minute. Dowling missed last weekend’s season-opener, but marked a memorable return to the Series in Cape Town.

It was otherwise all New Zealand in the first term. Brady Rush came close to scoring just before the half-time break, but the SVNS Series regular managed to get a pop pass off to Keelan, who completed a double at the second time of asking.

New Zealand led 21-7 at the break.

Dietrich Roache stepped up as Australia’s playmaker early in the second half, drawing in a couple of defenders and getting a pass off to James McGregor. McGregor raced away for a pivotal score, as Australia fought their way back into the contest.

Australia Sevens veteran Josh Turner weaved through the All Blacks Sevens’ defensive line with about three minutes to go for a significant score. Roache slotted a clutch conversion from a difficult position to bring the two teams level.

With the match in the balance, Sofai Notoa-Tipo finished off some skilful attacking play from the New Zealanders. Rush got a pass off to Notoa-Tipo, who stepped inside a defender before gliding down the field for the go-ahead try.

In the final play of the match, SVNS Series newcomer Bradley Tocker was penalised at the breakdown. Sam Clarke kicked the ball away, leading referee Tevita Rokovereni to show the replacement a yellow card.

Australia had a one-man advantage and came agonisingly close to scoring, only for Ben Dalton to knock the ball on about 10 metres shy of the try line. These teams have played out three thrillers this season, with the New Zealanders winning all of them so far.

“We still had the belief in the team. We didn’t make it through but we still believed in the crew that was here. We just wanted to finish off this last day,” Notoa-Tipo said on the RugbyPass TV broadcast post-game.

“It’s always tough to play against the Aussies, they’re pretty fit boys… always good to battle against a team like Aussie every now and then.”