World Rugby Sevens Series in Cape Town: New Zealand women and Samoa men take titles
Samoa denied New Zealand double delight beating the Kiwi men in a tight tussle in the men's Cup final. New Zealand's women beat Australia in the women's final for the title on Sunday (11 December).
Rugby Sevens
Vaa Apelu Maliko scored a last-minute try to hand Samoa a 12-7 victory over New Zealand to win the Cape Town leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series on Sunday (11 December).
New Zealand was on the cusp of winning both the men’s and women’s titles in the Mother City before Maliko flew over the line to give his side the lead.
Samoa now shares the top spot on the standings with South Africa with 47 points each after winning the last two tournaments between them. New Zealand is in third place, three points adrift.
The Pacific Islanders broke the stalemate shortly before the half-time break when Faafoi Falaniko found his way across the whitewash for an unconverted try (5-0). The Kiwis struck back after the break thanks to a Brady Rush five-pointer, which Tepaea Savage converted to hand them a slender two-point lead.
Maliko then crushed any hopes of a Kiwi double diving over the line a minute from time, earning the man-of-the-match accolade in the process.
New Zealand women crush Aussie women
Olympic champions New Zealand returned to title-winning ways with a comprehensive 31-14 victory over bitter rivals Australia.
The Kiwi women were in rampant form, taking a 28-0 lead before the Australians finally got onto the scoreboard courtesy of a Madison Ashby try.
Tyla Nathan-Wong was the chief destroyer for New Zealand, scoring a brace of tries with Shiray Kaka, Michaela Blyde, and Kelly Brazier also getting onto the scoresheet.
Demi Hayes scored for Australia in the dying moments of the clash, but it was too little, too late, as the Kiwis inflicted irreparable damage early on in the contest.
Australia and New Zeland are level on 38 points on the series standings after winning a tournament apiece in Dubai and Cape Town.
Paris 2024 qualifying from World Rugby Sevens Series 2023
The top four finishers in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the end of the 2022/23 season will secure an automatic qualification berth for their countries to compete in the rugby sevens tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics.