The New Zealand defence had more starch, and there was more cohesion and better passing on attack. Sione Molia finished ranked No 4 in World Rugby's performance tracker, which looks at several aspects of a sevens' player's output.
"It was just about staying in our systems and recognising what we need to do in our attack. Last week we just lacked a bit of match experience. We hadn't played in a few months and didn't have a lot of build-up time. We were a bit more consistent this weekend," Waldrom says.
After a double by captain Scott Curry helped New Zealand to a 28-7 win over Kenya in the Cup quarter-final, New Zealand were rank underdogs in the semi against the hosts, but started strongly, assertive both with and without the ball. Sherwin Stowers, one of several veterans to play with vim and vigour over the two days, scored the opening try. South Africa hit back with two breakout tries, the second a superb solo effort to Rosco Specman. New Zealand were pressing hard when time ran out.
New Zealand won the bronze fixture, 24-19 over a game Scotland, who had never beaten them in World Series history. But they needed a last minute Jonathan Ruru try to seal it.
Waldrom laughed when it was suggested that New Zealand's physical semifinal display had taken it out of South Africa, allowing England, whom New Zealand hammered 33-7 on day one, to win the Cup. But he agreed that may have been the case.
"I don't think many were expecting England to step up after we beat them quite convincingly yesterday. I like to think we showed South Africa can be rattled if you put a bit of pressure on them and create opportunities yourself. I like to think we led the way there."
Waldrom had plenty of praise for his more seasoned players, all of whom seemed to get a second wind in Cape Town.
"Those experienced guys really stepped up, Tim Mikkelson, DJ (Forbes) cops a bit of flak, but I thought he put his hand up and played pretty well. The other one, for me, is Rocky Khan, who has been in exile for awhile, and he certainly had a big tournament. With a bit of time in the environment, I'm excited about what some of these guys can do. We've got a few weeks off now to work on some stuff. All going well, we are targeting a good performance in Wellington."
There will be some rest for the players, though not a lot of Waldrom, who will studying tape of the provincial qualifying tournaments held around New Zealand over the last fortnight. The Mount Maunganui and national provincial sevens tournaments, set for the first two weekends in January, will be crucial for sourcing more players and gaining valuable match-time ahead of the January 28-29 Wellington Sevens.
"We want to have our guys with as much game time as possible, so a large portion of this squad will play at nationals. The top 20 from nationals will end up with contracts, so there's everything to play for and the opportunity if you play well," Waldrom adds.
South Africa lead the standings from England and Fiji. Then follows Scotland, the surprise package, and New Zealand. Samoa languishes in 12th position.
Cup quarter-final: New Zealand 28 (Scott Curry 2, Tim Mikkelson, Sherwin Stowers tries; Rocky Khan 4 con) Kenya 7 HT: 14-7
Cup semifinal: South Africa 14 New Zealand 7 (Stowers try; Khan con) HT: 7-7
Bronze medal match: New Zealand 24 (Dylan Collier, Antonio Kirikiri, Jonathan Ruru, Mikkelson tries; Khan 2 con) Scotland 19 HT: 14-12
