New Zealand a class apart

New Zealand won their third International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens title in succession, beating a plucky Argentina 34-5 in the Final of the LA Sevens at the Home Depot Center, Carson, California (greater Los Angeles area) on Sunday.

New Zealand's victory, won through a combination of sheer determination, a fine combined squad effort and the influential brilliance of stand-in captain Orene Ai'i, takes them to 72 points in the overall IRB Sevens standings, 20 ahead of closest rivals Fiji.

An early try from Tafai Ioasa, who provided the thrust and industry in midfield in Liam Messam's absence, got the Kiwis off to the best possible start and, although Argentina responded through a try from Schusterman, a further ten points were added before half time by a breakaway from Hunt and a second from Ioasa.

Argentina, who did fantastically well to reach the Final with just 11 men to pick from, rallied, Bosch, Tiesi and Fleming all strong, but tries to Ellison, Hunt and Ai'i sealed the 34-5 win.

"We knew we'd need to play well against them," said coach Gordon Tietjens, "They're a strong side and we lost here to them in the final last year.

"But I'm very proud of my guys. These things don't win themselves, they dedicate themselves to training hard, eating right, all the things you need to do to be the best. Three in a row is great, but it comes with a lot of sweat and tears."

Gordon Tietjens' outfit must now be considered clear favourites for both the IRB Sevens 2004/05 crown and the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2005, which takes place in Hong Kong from March 18 to 20.

Cup semi-finals:

Argentina took early control of their semi-final against England, who oddly chose to kick a lot of possession away in a bid to win the territorial battle. In the end the Pumas ran out comfortable 17-0 winners.

New Zealand's passage to the Final was equally convincing. They led 24-0 at half-time, having capitalised on Australian mistakes, and stretched the lead to 31-0 before conceding two late Australian tries to leave the score 31-12.

Other Finals:

* In the penultimate match of the day Fiji ran out winners in the Plate Final, beating Samoa 24-21 in an enthralling Final.

Dranivasa, Nanuku and the fabulous Roko - well and truly back now - all touched down for the Fijians, but Samoa hit back through Lemi, Perez and Fa'amatuainu and in the end only Fuli's try stretched the Fijians to comfort.

* The Bowl Final saw an abrasive Canada run out convincing winners over darlings of the crowd, Kenya.

Githinji's men had beaten Uruguay 26-10 to reach the Final, while Canada pipped Scotland 17-10, but in the Final Canada set out to stop the speedy Kenyans from playing, and their tactic worked well.

"We know what they can do if you give them the space, so we really aimed to get in their faces, be physical, be aggressive, and it paid off," said coach Ric Suggitt.

"We're aiming for top eight finishes, but a Final win is a Final win and we'll take the points. This has been great preparation for the World Cup in a month's time."

* Tonga, meanwhile, won the Shield Final against a brave Mexico 40-0. Tonga overcame hosts USA 35-12 to reach the F, while Mexico won over the West Indies amid jubilant scenes to book a place in the final in their first IRB event. The Final itself, however, proved a step too far.

"The tears and emotion after the semi showed how much it meant to us," said coach Jamie Johnston.

"I just can't yet put into words how much this will have done for Mexican rugby. To play in a tournament of this magnitude is huge for us. In about two weeks we'll realise what we've achieved."

* Earlier in the day former USA captain Dan Lyle presented England's Ben Gollings with a trophy to recognise his new status as the leading all-time points scorer in IRB Sevens. Gollings passed Fiji's Waisale Serevi in Wellington last weekend.

Results Day Two:

Bowl quarter-finals:
Tonga 10-17 Uruguay
Kenya 14-0 USA
Canada 49-0 Mexico
Scotland 33-7 West Indies

Cup quarter-finals:
England 28-7 Samoa
Argentina 7-5 South Africa
Australia 24-5 France
New Zealand 21-7 Fiji

Shield semi-finals:
Tonga 35-12 USA
Mexico 19-12 West Indies

Bowl semi-finals:
Uruguay 10-26 Kenya
Canada 17-10 Scotland

Plate semi-finals:
Samoa 12-10 South Africa
France 10-28 Fiji

Cup semi-finals:
England 0-17 Argentina
Australia 12-31 New Zealand

Shield Final:
Tonga 40-0 Mexico

Bowl Final:
Kenya 0-15 Canada

Plate Final:
Samoa 21-24 Fiji

Cup Final:
Argentina 5-34 New Zealand