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Straight away, I’ll be honest; I don’t watch sevens that much. Over the years I have never found myself in front of my TV waiting for the Wellington sevens to start.
On Saturday, waiting for the Wellington sevens to start, I had one reason to watch. I understand and appreciate how much of a amazing athlete Sonny Bill Williams is, and over the last few years I became a Williams supporter from reading how he conducts himself off the field with his many gestures of good will. I have found myself genuinely interested on how he might perform in the sevens game.
NZ were placed in Pool A.
Here is how he went in his pool games:
Vs Russia 38-7
Sonny Bill was subbed in around the fourth minute into the second half, much to the approval of the crowd. He had some good touches, he was gifted a try when Augustine Pulu broke the line and gave the try to Sonny.
Vs Scotland 27-7
Sonny Bill had some good spots defensively, the highlight of which was shortly after second half. He pounced into a ruck to win the turnover, which led to a Sam Dickson try.
Vs South Africa 14-19
This game reminded me how awesome sevens can be. Sevens is sometimes seen as a fast-paced, try-infested games. But this game was just as exciting and intense because at the dying stages I actually thought New Zealand lost.
SBW was the culprit when he threw an offload that led to a South African try, but a minute later he shot from zero to hero and threw an amazing offload that led to the match-winning try.
When nothing was on, Sonny Bill ran straight towards three opponents, but before he would hit the ground, he threw a signature offload to Joe Webber that sent New Zealand to the quarter-finals undefeated.
Quarter-finals:
Vs Kenya 36-0
During the demolition, one note of significance is when SBW came off second best in a collision with Oscar Ouma.
Semi-finals:
Vs England 25-5
The Kiwis outmuscled the England side to head to the finals against South Africa. SBW benefited from an Akira Ioane burst to go and score his second try of the tournament.
Finals:
Vs South Africa 24-21
Although helping New Zealand to another Wellington victory, SBW had two mistakes that he’s probably not that proud of. One was when he dropped a kickoff from South Arica, and second was a wayward offload that led to a South Africa try.
Overall:
Taking into account everything, speed, fitness, defence etc, I’ll give SBW’s first sevens debut a B-.
He has a lot to work on, and he said himself he has a lot to prove. He’s an awesome athlete that influences his teammates in a good way. Reiko Ioane said that “at training SBW’s probably the fittest dude.”
His defence has been good. There were glimpses of what he’s capable of, his offload to Joe Webber, his turnover work and his overall attitude on and off the field.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.