By Tom Chick at Twickenham
New Zealand won the 2014 Marriott London Sevens, beating trans-Tasman rivals Australia 52-33 in the final thanks to 22 points from Gillies Kaka having earlier trailed 21-0.
By winning the ninth and final round of the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series the All Blacks Sevens had extra cause for celebration having already secured a 12th Series title in 15 years on day one.
It was not to be the dream end for Australia, who were attempting to win the London Sevens for the first time since 2010, in what was coach Michael O’Connor’s last Series event in charge.
HSBC Sevens World Series 2014/15
The dates have already been announced for the 2014/15 HSBC Sevens World Series, from which the top four-ranked nations will qualify directly for the Olympic Games in 2016.
Round 1 Australia (Gold Coast) 11-12 Oct 2014
Round 2 Dubai 5-6 Dec 2014
Round 3 South Africa (Port Elizabeth) 13-14 Dec 2014
Round 4 New Zealand (Wellington) 6-7 Feb 2015
Round 5 USA (Las Vegas) 13-15 Feb 2015
Round 6 Hong Kong 27-29 Mar 2015
Round 7 Japan (Tokyo) 4-5 Apr 2015
Round 8 Scotland (Glasgow) 9-10 May 2015
Round 9 England (London) 16-17 May 2015
Blitzboks secure second in Plate
Seabelo Senatla scored his 11th, 12th and 13th tries of the London Sevens to help South Africa win the Plate by beating Kenya 38-7 in the final. By doing so, Senatla is only the third player in the history of Sevens to score 13 or more tries in a tournament, and the first since the 2005 Paris Sevens.
In the semi finals Kenya beat France 28-19 before Senatla completed a first hat-trick of the day in a 24-17 win for South Africa against Samoa, having trailed 17-0, a result which confirmed they would finish the season second overall behind New Zealand.
Mack hat-trick secures Bowl for Canada
21 points from Phil Mack helped Canada win the Bowl by beating Argentina 24-14 in the final. Geraint John’s side ended an impressive season, in which they finished sixth in the overall Series, with eight more points for their Series tally.
Earlier, Sean Duke scored his 100th career try as Canada beat Wales 17-14 having earlier defeated Japan 21-19 thanks to two tries from John Moonlight.
Palefau helps USA to the Shield
Mike Palefau and Zack Test both scored two tries in the final of the Shield, as the USA ended their season with a 36-12 over Japan.
Palefau had earlier also crossed for a brace as his side defeated Portugal 45-7 to set up a final against Japan after Kosuke Hashino crossed for the winning try against last week’s Cup semi finalists Scotland in the Brave Blossoms’ semi final.
IRB.COM