DJ Forbes and the New Zealand team celebrate lifting the HSBC Hong Kong Sevens trophy after beating England in the final. Their victory comes at the end of a three-day festival which is one of the highlights of the social scene in Hong Kong.
New Zealand turned on the style to beat England 26-7 in Sunday’s final of the Hong Kong Sevens as they ran in four tries in a comprehensive victory.
The New Zealand triumph — their fifth since 2000 in the prestigious event — took them back to the top of the HSBC Sevens World Series — with two rounds of the nine remaining.
England, who beat two-time holders Fiji in the semifinal, were always on the back foot in the finale of the three-day tournament and scored a lone try through Tom Powell.
But New Zealand breached their defense regularly as Ben Lam, Tim Mikkelson, captain DJ Forbes and Sam Dickson crossed in a dominant display.
“It is a great feeling,” coach Gordon Tietjen told the official tournament website.
“My captain leads so well from the front, he was simply amazing. And also the other players linked in with him, we played a good final.
“This will certainly help in going towards winning that title.”
In the earlier playoff for third place, Fiji gained some consolation for their semifinal setback by beating Australia 21-12.
South Africa beat Wales 19-14 in the Plate Final and are the nearest challengers to New Zealand in the battle for overall honors, trailing by seven points in the standings, with Fiji in third.
Tournaments in Scotland and England in May will complete the world series.
