The All Blacks Sevens take on Great Britain in the quarter-finals of the Los Angeles Sevens after a surprise defeat to Samoa on a heavily waterlogged field.
In a game delayed over two hours due to California thunder and lightning, Clark Laidlaw’s men barely fired a shot at an electric Samoan outfit in a drenched Dignity Health Sports Park, losing 14-7 in their last pool match.
The result means the Pacific Islanders top Pool A with three wins out of three and will play Argentina in the quarterfinals of Pool D.
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New Zealand – which had already qualified for the last eight by defeating Chile (26-7) and hosts USA (36-15) in their first two games – will meet the unbeaten Britons on Monday (NZT).
And they’ll need to improve significantly from this performance to have any chance of back-to-back World Series victories after a toothless showing against Brian Lima’s ruthless Samoan outfit.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Samoa’s Faafoi Falaniko holds off New Zealander Moses Leo on his way to a try in California.
The tone was set right from the kick-off, when Paul Scanlan picked up a loose ball and attacked the New Zealand defense, almost breaking through to score what would have been a stunning solo effort.
The All Blacks Sevens looked shaken and unable to gain a foothold in the game as Samoa better adapted to the tricky conditions and continued to explore New Zealand’s tryline.
After a sustained period of pressure that saw them force two penalties, Samoa got the reward they deserved when Scanlan crossed the line two minutes before the break.
In reality, New Zealand were lucky to only be 7-0 down after a ragged first half, but the game followed a similar pattern in the second with Samoa dominating possession and looking menacing in attack.
When Faafoi shrugged off Falaniko a couple of tackles to score Samoa’s second try in front of the posts with two minutes remaining, it was basically game over.
The All Black Sevens finally got on the scoreboard in the final minute when Brady Rush was released in the corner by a raging Moses Leo, only to selflessly float a pass downfield for Leroy Carter to score under the posts for an easier conversion .
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
New Zealand’s Amanaki Nicole makes a last-ditch tackle to deny Samoa’s Vaa Apelu Maliko a try.
But it was too little, too late, as New Zealand suffered its first defeat against Samoa on American soil since 2012. The Pacific Islanders also upset the Kiwis in the Cape Town stage final of the series in December and based on this evidence, it will be a pause as they chase their second title of the season.
The All Blacks Sevens are also looking to back up their Sydney triumphed a month ago and currently leads the World Series standings with 85 points after five legs. The Kiwis came second in Cape Town and Hamilton and took bronze in Hong Kong.