New Zealand unearthed a new sevens prodigy in Reiko Ioane as they convincingly beat England 27-21 in the final of the Wellington round of the Sevens World Series on Saturday.
It was the eighth time New Zealand have won their home tournament, and the final score flattered England who scored two late tries when the game was well beyond their reach.
The win lifted New Zealand to 69 points after four rounds, seven points behind series leaders South Africa who beat Scotland 40-7 in a play-off for third.
The final was all New Zealand with powerful 17-year-old Ioane scoring two tries to emerge as the star of the tournament with his extreme pace and ability to beat tacklers.
Ioane finished the weekend with six tries, one behind the tournament top try scorer Damien Hoyland of Scotland.
In the final New Zealand, playing without injured captain DJ Forbes, raced to a 10-0 lead with early tries by Dylan Collier and Gillies Kaka. A converted Marcus Watson try narrowed the gap when England had a one-man advantage with Joe Webber in the sin-bin.
When numbers were restored, Ioane’s first try pushed New Zealand out to 15-7 just on half-time. Further tries by Ioane and Scott Curry extended the lead out to 27-7 before late consolation tries to England by Tom Mitchell and John Brake.
New Zealand were not fully tested in the run up to the finals after going through pool play unbeaten on the first day and then beating Australia and South Africa in the quarter and semi finals.
England, however, were beaten by New Zealand in pool play and had a tough run to the finals.
In the quarter-finals it took four minutes of extra time before Christian Lewis-Pratt scored their winning try after the scores were tied 21-21 at the end of regulation play.
In the semi-finals they came from 19-0 down against Scotland to win 24-19 with the winning try again coming after the final hooter.
Fiji beat Australia 24-0 in the plate final and are third in the overall standings on 64 points.
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Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam
Rating: 2/5
Dengue fever symptoms
High fever (40°C/104°F)
Severe headache
Pain behind the eyes
Muscle and joint pains
Nausea
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
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Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Race card for Super Saturday
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dh918,125) (Dirt) 1,900m.
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m.
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m.
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki
Rating: 5/5
BACK TO ALEXANDRIA
Director: Tamer Ruggli
Starring: Nadine Labaki, Fanny Ardant
Rating: 3.5/5
