Sevens victory comes at a cost

LONDON - Hours after putting in a request for reinforcements, New Zealand sevens rugby coach Gordon Tietjens had his battered squad boosted when Ross Martin and Joeli Vidiri were added for the final tournament of the World Series circuit.

Yesterday's crucial tournament victory in London came at a cost. Captain Karl Te Nana is carrying an injury going into this weekend's last tournament in Cardiff, and the experienced Dallas Seymour has been forced home with a back injury.

New Zealand beat Australia 19-12 in the final at Twickenham to take a vital step towards retaining their title in Wales.

Adding to their plight, All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu, who replaced Seymour at short notice in London, is returning to New Zealand to take part in this weekend's national training squad camp.

Martin, from Bay of Plenty, had established himself as a regular member of the New Zealand sevens squad, but initially missed out on the final two tournaments of the circuit when Super 12 players became available.

Vidiri will join the squad after playing for the Barbarians on their three-match tour of Britain. The big winger played in the first two tournaments of the current circuit.

Te Nana's fitness would be assessed this week.

"We've got a couple of guys with rib injuries as well," Tietjens said.

Australia led the London final 12-7 with less than five minutes to play, in a match that was poised on a knife-edge throughout.

It took a try in injury time to New Zealand back Amasio Valence - who had a superb game on attack and defence - to break a 12-12 deadlock.

New Zealand go to Cardiff holding an eight-point world circuit advantage over Australia. Making the final would ensure they retained the world title.

A hamstring injury ruled Te Nana out of the semifinal (against Fiji) and final in London, though he hoped to be fit for Cardiff.

He did not feel as if the title was now as good as won. "Definitely not. We've still got to refocus."

Lomu played a leading role in the 15-7 win over Fiji, scoring one of his specialty tries with a defender clinging to his shorts as he stretched out for the line. He opened out in the final with a 50m run, being lowered one-on-one by the last Australian defender, Tim Atkinson.

But while Lomu was a threat whenever in space, Valence and Jared Going were the creators, with Valence scoring two tries and kicking a conversion.

"Amasio's an outstanding footballer," said Tietjens. "He just hasn't been playing sevens because he's been involved in Super 12."

Australia twice ran in superb long-distance tries. The first, to Cameron Pither, levelled the halftime scores at 7-7. Atkinson took Australia to 12-7 five minutes after the interval, when he capped off a weaving run by Peter Miller.

New Zealand head the World Series with 142 points. Australia have 134 and Fiji 116. Samoa, beaten 17-33 in the other semifinal by Australia, lie fourth with 80 points.

With a win in Cardiff worth 20, second 16, and the losing semifinalists getting 12, New Zealand need to win in the semifinals to claim the title.

That was not the aim, Tietjens said. "We're going there to win the tournament."

- NZPA