Day One results at the New Zealand (NZ) National Sevens tournament have been less about upsets but more of the examples of Speed and Finesse which the game today is built on. It has been exhilarating on both the Men’s and the Women’s draw.
Below are the full Day One results by Pool, and the Men’s quarter-finalists and Women’s playoff teams who will compete on Sunday 17th January to find the best two sides for 2016.
MEN’S DRAW AND RESULTS
POOL A: Northland, Bay of Plenty, Auckland and South Canterbury
Results – Northland 0 Bay of Plenty 21 | Auckland 38 South Canterbury 5 | Auckland 40 Northland 7 | BOP 26 South Can 10 | Northland 26 South Can 0 | BOP 12 Auckland 40
POOL B: Otago, Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki
Results – Otago 7 Wellington 17 | Hawkes Bay 15 Taranaki 21 | Otago 19 Taranaki 22 | Hawkes Bay 7 Wellington 10 | Wellington 14 Taranaki 20 | Hawkes Bay 26 Otago 19
POOL C: North Harbour, Wanganui, Counties-Manukau and Mid Canterbury
Results – North Harbour 26 Wanganui 10 | Counties-Manukau 47 Mid Canterbury 5 | Harbour 35 Mid-Can 12 | Counties 49 Wanganui 0 | Counties 26 Harbour 5 | Wanagnui 0 Mid Can 22
POOL D: Manawatu, Tasman, Waikato and Canterbury
Results – Manawatu 38 Tasman 12 | Waikato 19 Canterbury 7 | Manawatu 22 Canterbury 7 | Waikato 17 Tasman 14 | Tasman 12 Canterbury 20 | Waikato 21 Manawatu 15.
There were many fine matches over the day, with Pool B seeing the best competition–Hawkes Bay pushing Taranaki (15-21) who then had another fight against Otago (19-22) and finally saw off the challenge from 2015 Champions Wellington (14-20) That test might have potentially exhausted Taranaki, while in Pool A, leaders Auckland accumulated a massive 118 points in three games. The clear favourites, only Waikato matched their unbeaten record, in besting all-comers in Pool D.
Day One results set-up some tantalizing matches for Sunday, which will pit the leading sides against one another and determine supremacy on the Rugby Sevens field once again.
Men’s quarter-finals: Auckland v Wellington | Waikato v North Harbour | Counties-Manukau v Manawatu | Taranaki v Bay of Plenty.
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WOMEN’S DRAW AND RESULTS
GROUP ONE: Waikato, North Harbour, Counties-Manukau, Otago and Wellington
Results – Waikato 17 North Harbour 0 | Counties-Manukau 27 Otago 7 | Wellington 24 Otago 0 | Counties 35 Harbour 5 | Waikato 20 Wellington 5 | Harbour 14 Otago 14 | Counties 12 Wellington 25 | Waikato 33 Otago 12 | Harbour 7 Wellington 31 | Counties 26 Waikato 12
GROUP TWO: Auckland, Canterbury, Manawatu, Tasman and Wairapa Bush
Results – Auckland 19 Canterbury 12 | Manawatu 32 Tasman 0 | Waiarapa Bush 12 Tasman 17 | Manawatu 10 Canterbury 14 | Auckland 34 Waiarapa 5 | Canterbury 38 Tasman 0 | Manawatu 45 Waiarapa 0 | Auckland 40 Tasman 5 | Manawatu 17 Auckland 12 | Canterbury 50 Wairarapa 0.
The pace of the Women’s game has increased (even over twelve months) The players are sharp and attack is outright, with counter-attack from anywhere. In the group play, several teams appeared dominant only for that team to be toppled; Waikato had three good wins only to fall to Counties-Manukau at the last hurdle of the day. That team (Counties) had been bested by Wellington, which meant those three teams would all progress onto Day Two.
In Group Two, the trend continued as the expected favourites, and 2015 Champions Auckland were tripped up by Manawatu. That side was missing leader Sarah Goss, but credit to the team who bounced back strongly from a loss to Canterbury. That sort of competition is what fans came to see, and that saw Counties and Canterbury qualify directly to the semi final. Sunday’s first matches will see two crucial matches to determine the remaining two Cup positions.
Women’s play-offs: Manawatu v Waikato | Wellington v Auckland (winners go on to face Counties-Manukau and Canterbury)
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Follow all the matches, playing live on Sky Sports in New Zealand. Full tournament results will be published late on Sunday 17th January, and Last Word On Sports wishes the best to all the finalists.
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