Watch: Etene Nanai-Seturo puts Aussie defender in a spin cycle with incredible step
Former schoolboy sensation Etene Nanai-Seturo made his return to the All Blacks Sevens side for the Cape Town leg of the Sevens World Series over the weekend.
The electric 19-year-old - signed up to play Super Rugby with the Chiefs next season - made his presence felt with an audacious try against Australia in the Cup quarterfinal.
Receiving the ball from the back of a ruck and close to halfway, Nanai-Seturo hit Australian speedster Maurice Longbottom with a devastating in and out move before racing away untouched and scoring under the posts.
After edging Australia 26-17 in the quarterfinal, the All Blacks Sevens were downed by the USA Eagles in the semifinal.
The USA raced out to a 19-0 lead at halftime, with boom forward Danny Barrett trucking past two New Zealand defenders to score one of the tournament's more impressive tries. The final score was 31-12, with the USA crossing for five tries.
USA were beaten in the final by perennial champions Fiji who took home another Sevens title, winning 29-15 in what was a rather one-sided final.
With a pair of consecutive silvers to start their World Series, the USA find themselves atop the standings with 38 competition points.
The All Blacks Sevens would finish a disappointing fourth, going down to South Africa in the bronze playoff. After struggling through day one and almost missing the cup finals for the first time in team history, the side will be looking to rebound in Hamilton next month.
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It might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
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