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All Blacks Sevens ‘struggling’ for consistency on mixed day in Vancouver
After losing their first match to South Africa at SVNS Vancouver, New Zealand bounced back with a bit of a statement win over Ireland at BC Place Stadium on Friday night.
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Veteran Joe Webber, who returned to the SVNS Series for the first time since last year’s trip to North America, got the Kiwis onto the front foot by opening the scoring in the first minute.
Akuila Rokolisoa and Tepaea Cook Savage also made their mark on the scoreboard as the New Zealanders raced out to a 12-point lead, with a late Ireland try reducing the score to 19-14.
That victory has put the All Blacks Sevens in good stead heading into the second day of play, with the New Zealanders sitting third after two games in pool C.
But the maths is truly quite simple. If the All Blacks Sevens beat Pool C leaders Great Britain on Saturday then they’ll be playing in the quarters for the first time this year.
“The Series now, every game is so hard. We’re struggling to find our flow a bit,” Webber told RugbyPass on Day One in Vancouver.
“We talked after the first game that it was just everything that we can control… just got to find our flow.”
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The defeat to arch-rivals South Africa hurt, and that was clear as the All Blacks Sevens disappeared down the tunnel and away from the watchful eyes of fans on Day One.
It added to New Zealand’s growing list of unwanted results in the 2023/24 season to date, with the memories of last month’s ninth-place finish in Perth still fresh in everyone’s minds.
New Zealand placed third in Dubai, but they haven’t come close to replicating that feat since. They were knocked out in the Cape Town quarters and failed to make it out of the pool in Perth.
For a team that expects excellence, this season hasn’t quite gone to plan.
“You can definitely feel it when the boys come home and it’s frustrating when it’s just small errors, small moments that we’re not winning, but that’s the game of sevens,” Webber said.
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“We love it. It’s just the challenge of trying to stay consistent is the hardest thing.
“A lot of injuries, a lot of chopping and changing. Once we get consistent with our flow, hopefully, we can start putting some performances together.
“It’s just winning the small moments and everything we can control. All the small details that we’re not getting not getting right.”
After the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Webber always planned to take a 10-month break before the now-upcoming Paris Games in July.
Webber stepped away from the SVNS Series to take part in a Maori language program in New Zealand and to also undergo a shoulder reconstruction ahead of a return.
But Webber’s inclusion in the squad for Vancouver is a major boost. Webber and the New Zealanders will face Great Britain in the first men’s game on Day Two.
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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