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The Auckland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams have qualified for Nationals, both finishing up in fourth place at yesterday’s Northern Region Qualifiers.
The Men took a new-look side to Cambridge, with only one player returning from the team that won the same tournament last year.
They opened the day strongly with a 19-5 victory over Northland, Lolagi Visinia showed his undisputed skill running in two tries, while Ignacio Costa also got a five-pointer.
They couldn’t back that performance up though, a sloppy first half against Bay of Plenty saw them trailing 19-0 at the break before coming back stronger in the second spell. Ignacio Costa grabbed a try along with Mosese Sokiveta, but Bay of Plenty won 26-14.
The men turned things around in their last pool match against North Harbour, a strong first half putting them on the front foot. Sam Livingston nabbed a double while Dave Afamasaga opened the scoring. A second half try to Visinia confirmed a 22-5 victory and second place in their pool.
A semifinal loomed against Northland and unfortunately the result was reversed from pool play. Despite a strong start with captain Tutu Tairea opening the scoring, Northland ran away with a 24-10 win.
The final match was a third and fourth playoff against Bay of Plenty, with the same result from earlier in the day. A slow first half had Auckland on the back foot, trailing 24-0 at half time. Three second half tries to Brody Lam (2) and Afamasaga were not enough to pull back the win.
Auckland Men’s coach Ed Cocker said the day was a mixed bag.
“A lot of things didn’t go according to plan today but in saying that, there were some good things and some good moments,” said Cocker.
“We were able to try some different combinations and give our young players a run. The most concerning thing is our defence, we seem to be asleep in the first half before playing well in the second.”
“It’s obviously pleasing to qualify, but now where we seed is a different story,” said Cocker, referring to what pool Auckland will be placed in for Nationals.
The Auckland Women had a tough day at the office, losing their three pool matches but going through to the semifinals with a superior points difference to that of Northland.
They faced eventual champions, Counties Manukau, in the semi final and lost 26-0 before losing to Waikato 19-5 in their play off for third and fourth.
Auckland Women’s coach Crystal Kaua said the tournament was a bit of a reality check.
“We didn’t handle the pressure well today. It’s great to qualify but we’ve got a lot of work to do over the next five weeks.”
“This group underperformed today. The potential is massive, but they need to relax and play what’s in front of them. Everyone is committed to work hard, the players and the management, to make sure we deliver a better performance than today,” said Kaua.
Both teams now prepare for Nationals which will be hosted in Rotorua on January 14 and 15th.
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