World Rugby Sevens Series: New Zealand secure back-to-back wins at Los Angeles event
The All Blacks Sevens beat Argentina in the final to secure a second-consecutive win in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 and extended their lead in the standings.
Rugby Sevens
New Zealand completed a second-consecutive win in the 2022-23 World Rugby Sevens Series on Sunday (26 February), beating Argentina 22-12 in the final in Los Angeles.
Despite missing several key players for the sixth stop of the men's circuit, the All Blacks Sevens raced out of the blocks with a 26-7 opening group victory over Chile on Saturday.
Day 2 began in a similar fashion with a 35-15 win over the USA, but the series leaders were then brought back to earth with a 14-7 loss to a resurgent Samoa team.
That speed bump seemed to refocus the Kiwis, who rebounded with an impressive 24-12 win over Great Britain in the quarter-finals, before routing last year's series winners Australia 33-17 in the semis.
Argentina, meanwhile, progressed to the final with a 20-17 win over reigning olympic champions Fiji in their semi-final.
New Zealand drew first blood in the showpiece match, with Moses Leo touching down in the corner.
That lead was then stretched when the All Blacks' star player of the weekend, Leroy Carter, added two tries to bring his tournament tally to five.
Los Pumas did manage two consolation scores through Tobias Wade and Agustin Frada, but their opponents finished the contest with one more score from Brady Rush.
Third place in Los Angeles went to 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup winners Fiji, who held off a late charge to beat Australia 21-19.
New Zealand increased their lead atop the overall standings with a new total of 107 points, 21 ahead of second-placed Argentina and South Africa in third.
The teams ranked 1-4 at the end of the 2022/23 world series automatically qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.