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The All Blacks Sevens will face Great Britain in the quarterfinals of the Los Angeles Sevens after slipping to a surprise defeat to Samoa on a heavily waterlogged pitch.
In a match delayed for more than two hours due to thunder and lightning in California, Clark Laidlaw’s men barely fired a shot against an electric Samoan outfit at a sodden Dignity Health Sports Park, going down 14-7 in their final pool fixture.
The result means the Pacific Islanders top Pool A with three wins from three and will play Pool D runners-up Argentina in the Cup quarterfinals.
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New Zealand – who had already qualified for the last eight having beaten Chile (26-7) and hosts USA (36-15) in their opening two fixtures – will meet the unbeaten Brits on Monday (NZT).
And they will need to improve markedly from this display 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 Zealand’s Moses Leo on his way to scoring a try in California.
The tone was set right from kickoff, when Paul Scanlan gathered a loose ball and charged at the New Zealand defence, almost breaking through to score what would have been a stunning solo try.
The All Blacks Sevens looked shell-shocked and couldn’t find a foothold in the game as Samoa adapted to the tricky conditions better and continued to probe the New Zealand tryline.
After a sustained spell of pressure in which they forced two penalties, Samoa got their just rewards as Scanlan powered over the line two minutes before the break.
In truth, New Zealand were lucky to go in only 7-0 down after a ragged first half display, yet the game followed a similar pattern in the second with Samoa dominating possession and looking threatening in attack.
When Faafoi Falaniko shook off a couple of tackles to score Samoa’s second try in front of the posts with two minutes remaining, it was effectively game over.
The All Black Sevens did eventually get on the scoreboard in the final minute when Brady Rush was set free in the corner by a rampaging Moses Leo, only to unselfishly float a pass infield 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 their first defeat to Samoa on American soil since 2012. The Pacific Islanders also upset the Kiwis in the final of the Cape Town leg of the series in December and on this evidence, will take some stopping as they chase their second title of the season.
The All Blacks Sevens are also looking to back up their Sydney triumph a month ago and currently lead the world series standings with 85 points after five legs. The Kiwis were runners-up in Cape Town and Hamilton and took out bronze in Hong Kong.
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