The agony of the Sevens that got away

New Zealand looked on course to retain their Wellington Sevens crown till England spoiled the party.

It seemed so cruel, a heartbreaking finish to what was supposed to be a fairytale finale.

For 35,000 fans the 19-17 final loss to England was a party killer, but the scoreline is not what will eat away at New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens and his senior players as they head to San Diego tonight. It will be the nature of their capitulation that concerns them most as they look to next month's World Cup in Dubai.

New Zealand's previous eight IRB World Series titles have been built around discipline, but it was sadly lacking in Wellington.

"It's disappointing when you lose a man to the sinbin for a punching offence in the last two minutes of the game, and then to lose on the last play of the game," Tietjens said.

"The guys worked very very hard but they panicked when it mattered and that came back to haunt them, really."

Fijian born Tomasi Cama was the worst culprit, sent off for punching on day one, then sinbinned for the same offence in the final.

Not surprisingly Cama was missing when Tietjens named his side for San Diego last night, officially out with a knee injury. He may also have been given a message he needs to raise his standards.

"It is disappointing from one of the experienced players, and it is pretty hard to defend when you've got six players," Tietjens said.

"For them to score that last try with six players on the field, that's what's probably hurting the players [most]."

None will have felt the loss more than skipper DJ Forbes, who battled through a hairline fracture in his lower leg to lead the team to the final.

"The hard thing is we should have easily won that game, but we made those silly mistakes," Forbes said. "We had the lead all the way, so to stuff it up like that was really heartbreaking."

His teammates may take a moment to reflect before the next team meeting.

Tim Mikkleson should explain why, with the clock expiring in the final and New Zealand up 19-12, he did not kick the ball into the stands.

Lote Raikabula should apologise for his mindless first-half intercept pass, and Save Tokula for his costly dropped pass.

Tietjens put the indiscretions down to inexperience and will be glad he has been able to recall the experience of fit-again former Wellingtonian Nigel Hunt and Counties' Chad Tuoro for the next tournament.

Edwin Cocker is out for the season with a broken leg, Nafi Tuitavake missed the final with a sore ankle and Cama limped off with a calf niggle, while Forbes' leg may need rest.

Tietjens must now decide which Super 14 recruits he wants to bring into the fold. Hurricanes loose forward Victor Vito seems the most obvious to come back in, while Chiefs wing Sosene Anesi would provide much-needed pace.

Forbes was confident the side would come together in the coming days.

"We've got a lot of new faces this year and it's just finding that flow. That team that won last year didn't come together in one day. We had our losses as well before that [47-game] winning streak."

Despite the final loss, New Zealand moved up the series standings. South Africa, plate winners, retain their lead with 48 points with New Zealand and England tied for second on 44 points.

- © Fairfax NZ News