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‘We're here to win’: Sam Dickson makes history as New Zealand top SVNS pool
SVNS Series veteran Sam Dickson has etched his name into the history books alongside All Blacks Sevens greats after scoring his 100th try for New Zealand in a decisive win over Great Britain.
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The All Blacks Sevens started their campaign in Vancouver with a disappointing loss to arch-rivals South Africa, but they bounced back later on Day One with a victory over SVNS Perth bronze-medallists Ireland.
With it all to play for heading into the second day of play, New Zealand were in control of their own destiny but needed to beat an undefeated Great Britain outfit to ensure they were among the quarter-finalists at BC Place Stadium.
Dickson, 34, scored New Zealand’s second try early in the first term and completed a historic double later in the fixture as the All Blacks Sevens ran away with a dominant 26-5 victory.
An incredible century of tries for Sam Dickson 💯#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSVAN | @nz_sevens pic.twitter.com/AFt03jWAtV
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) February 24, 2024
Walking off the field with hundreds of supporters shouting his name, Dickson disappeared from the watchful gaze of supporters with the match ball under his arm.
“I brought up my 100th try. I scored two that game and I’ve been on 98 for a few tournaments so stoked to bring it up,” Dickson told RugbyPass after walking down the tunnel.
“I never thought I’d score 100 tries to be honest. I’ve been more of a donkey and a worker than a try-scorer.
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“There’s so many legends of our game that have brought up 100 for the All Blacks Sevens so it’s an honour to do that. Good way to bring it up in a great team effort against GB.”
If there were style points on offer, they would’ve been awarded in Dickon’s favour. The Olympian got the ball near the right touchline and did more than just put the ball down beyond the try line.
Dickson somersaulted into the in-goal while jotting the ball down. It was a fitting, if not a bit risky, way to bring up his century of tries for New Zealand.
“When I was in mid-dive, well firstly I didn’t want to graze myself up,” he explained.
“I tried to think quickly of a different way to so I thought of a little dive, but as soon as I dove, I scored a similar try against (South) Africa a few years ago and landed on my shoulder and got a huge hematoma.
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“When I was mid-air I thought, ‘Oh no, stupid idea.’ But I didn’t get hurt.”
Getting your 100th try in style 😮💨#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSVAN https://t.co/0vrD4OLS9G pic.twitter.com/fkU9Jy08yT
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) February 24, 2024
New Zealand have booked their place in the SVNS Series quarter-finals for the first time this year after missing out in Perth. With Ireland beating South Africa, the Kiwis have moved on in pole position out of Pool C.
For a team that looked down, but not out, after losing to arch-rivals South Africa on Friday, it was “a tough one” to get their campaign back on track – but they’ve done just that with style.
“We had a real disappointing start against South Africa, we were nowhere near our best,” Dickson said.
“We really needed to regroup against Ireland and obviously last time we played Ireland, they put a real good performance against us in Cape Town so we know they’re a class outfit.
“It was do-or-die against GB. If we lost, we were out. GB had won their last two games, were playing really well so we knew we had to play to our potential and play as a team.
It’s such a confidence game sevens and you can lose your confidence fast,” he added.
“We’ve just got to stick tight and our leaders and our experience really have to step up when we’re under the pump like that, and I felt like we did that that game.
“We’ve got to keep on doing that. We’re here to win the tournament.
“As I said back in Perth, our goal is to win the Olympics… but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to win every time we go out.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Well 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.
6 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
6 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
6 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
6 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
6 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to comments