SBW injured as New Zealand lose to Japan

Nah it was because Australia were awarded a try off a knock on and drop ball :-)

NZ were never one of the Gold Medal favourites, they have always been touted as lucky to make the semi finals from the rugby public and media in NZ and they would know the team better than anyone else.

Yes ClarkeG the post review will be scathing. This was so unlike any NZ Sevens side that youve now got to question Titch's credentials. Plays like Kaka's kick and score were so few and far between, there never looked to be anything on when they attacked, they werent running any angles or plays and most of all for me the defence was so benign I bet oppositions couldnt believe the space they were given on the ball. Our guys looked like they were trying to shepherd sheep without having to touch them. No disrespect to the opposition, though they were all much better anyway so it goes without saying- we weret even in this league, but how our Sevens got to this standard is unbelievable, especially when this year was specifically set aside from a resource perspective. Theyre going to look at the replays and cringe....what were they doing...?!

That last play was just so indicative of their tournament - they simply could not retain the ball with any surety in contact.

That's the sort of rubbish defence I meant, waiting for them to come up...when did that e er come in?

That's better Kaka takes them on with the chip...smarter... A small chance now.

Looks like I'm wrong (thankfully). Beating SA was all they needed to do.

Yes wide could be an issue as they've not backed themselves so far but up the middle may have been the plan with the SBW types with offloading but he's gone so Akiras going to have to fill that role. I think Kaka and Mikkleson are going to have to work more together and honestly I can't see why Forbes is even there he's done so little. Look at the smarts of the other sides, the little chips for regain...we have none of that. All I've seen is run up and hit, and they're not even getting that right. On defence they're standing back waiting for them to come at them yet look at when we get the ball...someone on us every single play. It's like they've abandoned every basic of the game and are pinning everything on the Ioane brothers...who are doing little themselves. Fiji are too smart to allow them time to change up.

Extraordinary really. What are the chances of them falling over the line some how to get over Fiji and scramble or trip over a France or Japan into the final. Because that looks like what they have done to this point - falling, scrambling, tripping over themselves. And just as you thought the injury list cant get any worse Curry joins it. I doubt they have the petrol left in the tank. They look way off the pace. You would think Fiji will need to have a meltdown for this NZ team to go any further. Certainly up the tempo is needed but I don't see they have the pace needed to play it wide so best just try to smash it up the middle I say and hope for the best.

NZ scrape into the Quarters by one point differential and face favourites Fiji. Unless they completely change their gameplan, up the tempo, get into the Fijian faces all I can see is an easy win to Fiji. They need a playmaker and not just run up into contact every time. Tactically they've got this all wrong, unlike Titch's teams of the past.

cant believe we squeezed through to the QFs by ONE POINT DIFFERENCE....that's literally one conversion throughout the pool stages. Talk about relying on luck. I hope we get smacked by Fiji. USA deserved to get through based on thier efforts. Selection of 15s players has seriously screwed the form of 7s team. Too big, too slow, too injury prone. We are starting to look like SA rugby in the 15 games. How ironic.

Seems NZ has taken the complete wrong approach by thinking you win this game with all big rugby boys and aggression. Against GB they lacked genuine speed and worse got beaten at practically every collision. They lacked everything in the basics of Sevens that Titch's teams have practiced for twenty years...pace out wide, in your face defence and smarts. The rugby players...the Ioanes, SBW for the short time he was there have been a complete failure. No urgency, the only player looking interesting has been Gillies Kaka. No one has taken on the playmaker role so ably done in the past by guys like Tomasi Cama and Eric Rush. Even worse the real Sevens players...Kaka, Mikkleson, Forbes etc seem to have sat back and let the rugby players make the plays! Kurt Baker should definitely have gone as well but overall this has got to be the slowest, disjointed NZ Sevens side in years. Titch is going to have to take the blame for this. Poor selections, prep and gameplan. The two matches they lost so far they fully deserved to. Thoroughly outplayed and lucky to be close in either.

I know. I dont like to set my self up for being wrong by stating 100% garantees. Do you?

20 years of imports of Kiwis, Boks, Wallabies has not done the locals any harm. How could they not learn.

Who follows Sevens in New Zealand mate?

Any achilles is bad news Chook' think anything up to 12 months, it's worse than a knee job for incapacity! You a member of GWS yet mate?

Nah! it was because the Kiwi girls were one player down! I saw it too!

You are right mate as in Mew Zealand sevens rugby is not thought of as a top sport at all and we all know the reason for that.and in fact as you say a lot of players opted to play Super rugby in preference ~ think Ardie Savea who is but one who opted out.

NZ 7s is a joke these days, not even worth following. Everyone in NZ wants All Blacks taken Out of their name. Losing to Japan is a disgrace. Plain NZ 7 would be adequate. SBW .. Bugger, ABs will survive

Sevens is an offshoot of yhe 15 man game and is played on a full size pitch with pretty much the same rules/laws applying so therefore there is one hell of a lot of ground to defend no matter how your team plans it. As someone else quoted somewhere that any team on the day can beat any team regardless of what team it is or where they're ranked as the very nature of the game dictates that. ~ possession is the name of the game and if you give possession away you're immediately under the pump. It's great to see the Aussie' girls get up but after watching that game a couple of times it was fair to say that they had a good lend of the Referee who it appeared to me was right out of her depth as were the Touchies', but no disrespect to the girls in green and yellow as it was a good one to win! I personally dislike sevens rugby as to me it's only less than half a game and it just leaves me cold, therefore I have never ever watched a complete match excepting that girls final ~ but hey, that's just me!! Heaps of folk can't be wrong as it seems to have a reasonable following but for me it's played by 15 players not 7!