New Zealand keep title hopes alive by beating Australia in ‘must-win’ clash

With their hopes of playing in the SVNS Singapore Cup quarter-finals hanging in the balance, New Zealand have lived to fight another game after overcoming Australia 26-10 in a “must-win” clash.

New Zealand started their campaign at the National Stadium with a tight win over Canada but a disastrous defeat to Series frontrunners Argentina later on left them with their backs against the ropes.

It was almost poetic that for the All Blacks Sevens to remain alive in this competition they would have to thwart off the threat of their fiercest rivals Australia, and the Aussies had looked good too.

Australia went unbeaten on the opening day of play with a big win over Los Pumas Sevens and another impressive performance against Series cellar dwellers Canada who looked much-improved.

While the Aussies were set to play in the quarter-finals, New Zealand had it all on the line and they certainly played like it and rain continued to pour down onto the roof of the Singaporean venue.

Fehi Fineanganofo scored the opener inside the first minute which set the tone for the All Blacks Sevens, and Moses Leo added a first half double before captain Dylan Collier scored on the bell.

“We set a goal this morning that this was pretty much an early quarter-final, a must-win,” Leo told RugbyPass.

“It was good that we stated well had a few bumps through the middle but Aussie are a good side so they took advantage of their opportunities.

“Definitely looking forward to the next game.”

"Playing like defending champions now" 🏆@NZ_Sevens continue their push for another title 🇳🇿#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSSGP pic.twitter.com/UTGSZ5I4NZ

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) May 4, 2024

The All Blacks Sevens will play the United States of America in the quarter-finals – the very same side who knocked the Kiwis out of Cup contention at SVNS Los Angeles earlier this season.

But if the New Zealanders are good enough to beat Perry Baker and Co. then the men in black could be set for a reunion of sorts with Australia playing South Africa on the same side of the draw.

That’s a conversation for another time, though, with the Hong Kong Sevens champions New Zealand just searching for some consistency ahead of the Series’ Grand Final event in Madrid later this month.

“We’ve gone away from some of our processes and I think that comes with boys not having a lot of game time,” Leo explained.

“The coaches are trusting in players to put on the black jersey and mixing up connections, giving them the opportunity to play in the black jersey.

“I think there’s a bit of teething, a bit of rust and that’s to be expected, but it’s how we can bounce back from that and I think this game was a good reflection of how we reflected on yesterday.”

New Zealand play the USA in the third men’s quarter-final at 7:48 pm local time before South Africa take on Australia in the following match at 8:12 pm.

Earlier, SVNS LAX champions France will take on a spirited Great Britain outfit who are battling for a top eight spot on the Series, while Argentina take on Ireland in the other knockout fixture.

Catch up on all the latest SVNS Series action from the 2023/24 season on RugbyPass TV. SVNS Singapore is live and free to watch, all you need to do is sign up HERE.