New Zealand Retain South Africa Sevens Title

New Zealand retained their Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens title, beating England in the tightest of finals with a last-gasp penalty kick, 22-19.

In defending the title they won last year in George, the New Zealanders have closed England's early lead in the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series to just four points.

After the first two events in Dubai and South Africa, England lead the World Series with 44 points from New Zealand (40), Samoa (36) and Fiji (32) with South Africa lying fifth on 24.

South Africa recovered from the disappointment of losing in the Cup quarters to beat Argentina to the Plate. Scotland won the Bowl and Zimbabwe the Shield.

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HSBC SEVENS WORLD SERIES STANDINGS >> 

"The first two legs have been great, outstanding," said New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens. "It is really important, otherwise you are on the back foot all the time, so starting well in the first two tournaments, you have to be there or thereabouts to do well in the Series."

"We've had two different Cup champions to start the new season in Dubai and South Africa and so many teams have been competitive, so many matches have been well contested," said the IRB's Sevens Tournament Director, Beth Coalter.

"I think we can all look forward to Wellington and Las Vegas in the new year in the knowledge that the HSBC Sevens World Series has kicked off in the best possible way and is wide open."

Giles Morgan, HSBC's Group Head of Sponsorship added: "I think it's been a wonderful 10 days of sport. You just couldn't get more different places in the world in terms of how Sevens is celebrated, but it is celebrated. Every single tournament is going to have its own local feel to it and it's going very well so far. What I'm most excited about is that we also see a lot of opportunity for growth, and for the whole game that's perhaps the most exciting thing of all. It's not maximum level yet, but you can see the path to get there."

RIGHTS-FREE AUDIO & PHOTOS

At the end of the South Africa event, rights-free photos of all teams and the four trophy lifts are available in the online Media centre, as well as broadcast quality audio with:
- HSBC guest: Bryan Habana
- New Zealand: DJ Forbes, Gordon Tietjens (capt & coach)
- England: Ben Ryan (coach - World Series leaders)
- South Africa: Paul Treu (Plate winners)
- Scotland: Scott Riddell (capt - Bowl winners)
- Zimbabwe: Liam Middleton (coach - Shield winners)
- HSBC: Giles Morgan (Group Head of Sponsorship)
- Samoa: Stephen Betham (coach)
- Fiji: Iliesa Tanivula (coach)

RIGHTS-FREE AUDIO & PHOTOS >> 

ENDS

Further Information:

Seb Lauzier, +44 (0)7515 796 492, email: seb.lauzier@irb.com