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Last-Gasp Kiwis Reign Supreme in South Africa As England Stumbles
December 12, 2010

The New Zealand sevens rugby team, pictured here in a 2009 file photo, kept its South Africa Sevens rugby title with a last-gasp penalty by Tomasi Cama for a 22-19 win over England in the final on Saturday. The New Zealand sevens rugby team, pictured here in a 2009 file photo, kept its South Africa Sevens rugby title with a last-gasp penalty by Tomasi Cama for a 22-19 win over England in the final on Saturday.
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New Zealand kept its South Africa Sevens rugby title with a last-gasp penalty by Tomasi Cama for a 22-19 win over England in the final on Saturday.

Cama slotted his drop kick in the fourth minute of injury time as New Zealand won in South Africa for the fourth time in five years and prevented England from winning successive tournaments for the first time.

England won the Sevens World series opener last weekend in Dubai, beating New Zealand in the semifinals, but the men in black hit back with two wins over England in South Africa’s Western Cape — a 20-7 win in the pool stage on Friday and again in a dramatic final.

“To play finals footy in front of an awesome crowd like this and take it right down to the last second, it was definitely a pleasing moment,” New Zealand captain DJ Forbes said.

“They [England] are well-coached, well-drilled and they’ve got a lot of tricks up their sleeve.

“I guess to knuckle down and beat them back to back is definitely credit to the boys.”

England knocked out host South Africa in the quarterfinals, defending champion Samoa in the semifinals and led the Kiwis 14-0 with the help of veterans Ben Gollings and James Rodwell.

But New Zealand, which shrugged off a persistent Fiji team to reach its first final of the season, hit back when Declan O’Donnell outstripped the England defense to score in the left corner just before halftime.

Forbes then finished a New Zealand break from deep inside its own half and Tom Mikkelson sprinted down the left wing to score. Cama’s conversion pushed the defending champions in George 19-14 ahead.

Mat Turner made it 19-19 with England’s only second-half score, wriggling through the defense to burst clear. But, a minute after New Zealander Bryce Heem was sin-binned, England gave away a penalty near its own 22 and Cama succeeded with his pressure penalty for the dramatic win.

England still leads the series standings, but New Zealand has closed to within four points in second, heading to its home tournament in Wellington from Feb. 4-5. Samoa is third.

Having dominated with eight titles in the first nine seasons, New Zealand last won the world series in 2008. 


AP