Sevens: NZ sevens win eighth title

Dylan Collier fends off England's Tom Mitchell in the sevens final last night. Photo / Getty

New Zealand defended their Sevens Wellington crown and jumped to second in the overall standings on the world series after beating England in last night's final.

Finishing inside the top four is crucial this season, as teams eye a direct pass to next year's Rio Olympics where sevens debut on the world's biggest sporting stage.

Wellington was the fourth leg in the nine-port world series and the remaining tournaments will be played in the US, Hong Kong, Japan, Scotland and England.

New Zealand's victory at Westpac Stadium, their eighth in 16 years, came via a 27-21 triumph over England last night as tries to Rieko Ioane (two), Dylan Collier, Gillies Kaka and Scott Curry secured the win.

New Zealand had beaten England 24-5 in pool play on Friday and would have taken confidence from that mark, despite England's good record in Wellington where they've won twice before.

But they were without skipper DJ Forbes, who missed the final two games due to a foot injury.

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens expected the veteran to be available for next week's event in Las Vegas. Given New Zealand's success, it's likely the same 12 players will fly to the US tomorrow.

While crowd numbers were down it didn't stop those who attended from creating a cauldron-like atmosphere and they provided the extra boost New Zealand needed.

The Wellington win meant New Zealand (69) leapfrogged Fiji (64) in the overall standings, while Australia (58) held fourth place. South Africa, who won two of the first three tournaments, lead with 76 points.

South Africa, who lost 17-7 to New Zealand in the semifinals, finished third as they beat surprise package Scotland 40-7 in the third-fourth playoff. Scotland conceded two late tries to England to miss a first appearance in a final.

Coming into this weekend, Forbes said home advantage was the perfect opportunity for his side to spark their world series campaign and they made good on that.

With Tim Mikkelson out of action due to a groin injury, players such as Curry, Webber and Sam Dickson became the experienced heads around Forbes this weekend.

"They've worked their hearts out," Tietjens said. "Their conditioning levels are tremendous and they worked very, very hard for each other and they are playing really well."

Webber was a threat with his dangerous running but he hit just as hard in defence and made a couple of crunching tackles, although he put his side under pressure in the final with a needless sinbinning. Youngster Ioane emerged as a star with his pace and try-scoring out wide.

Aside from the loss of Mikkelson, who will also miss next week's event, Tietjens had to manage four world series debutants this weekend, and Wellington's Murphy Taramai was playing only his third tournament.

"We have exceeded all my expectations in this tournament, to be fair," Tietjens said.

In the minor trophy action, Fiji beat Australia 24-0 to claim the plate, and France took the bowl with a 27-5 win over Argentina. Canada beat Samoa 26-10 for the shield.