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Nick Jordan

Auckland, under new coach Wayne Pivac, emerged out of the 'Pool of Death' to shape up as the main contenders at the New Zealand National Sevens in Queenstown.

Pivac praised his team's defence as the city-slickers started the search for their first title in three years with wins over Manawatu 35-10, Bay of Plenty 31-26 and arch-rivals Canterbury in a 21-12 heartstopper.

Waikato, Counties-Manukau and Taranaki also went through unbeaten and look most likely to join Auckland in the semi-finals, although Bay of Plenty, who started as favourites after their win last week over Waikato, cannot be counted out yet.

"We've been working hard on this aspect as it's the team with the best defence that will win the tournament in this heat," said Pivac.

A large holiday crowd enjoyed very hot conditions at the Queenstown Recreation Ground and will return tomorrow for the mouth-watering knock-out stages and further glimpses of the future of New Zealand Sevens.

Among the young players who stood out on Day One were Brad Weber (Hawke's Bay), Marshall Suckling (Otago), Warwick Lahmert (Taranaki) and Malaki Fekitoa (Auckland) while recent international debutants Jackson Ormond (Taranaki), Bryce Heem (Auckland) and Frank Halai (Waikato) also impressed.

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens will name a 15-man squad for the HSBC Sevens World Series in Wellington shortly after the Queenstown event.

Pool A

Defending champions Waikato topped Pool A with a hard-fought 22-17 win over the home team after easy wins over North Otago (27-7) and Horowhenua-Kapiti (29-12).

The Mooloo men, coached by former internationals Waisiki Masirewa and Roger Randle, went down early before Halai glided in for two tries on the right flank and two other scores set up an opportunity for revenge over Bay of Plenty, who overwhelmed Waikato 47-26 a week ago.

"We had to dig deep for that win and we've met our goal for day one with three wins," said Waikato captain Steve Ketu. "We know Bay are very strong so we have to go in tomorrow with a do-or-die attitude. There is no talk of what happened last year, this is a new team in a new year and we have our own legacy to create. We're really looking forward to tomorrow."

Buxton Popoali'i threatened every time he touched the ball for Otago, and will have one eye on a recall to Tietjens' squad, while Suckling ran in six tries for the day and shapes as a key player in their clash against Auckland.

Otago are the only South Island team in the Cup competition and can therefore count on vocal local support in New Zealand's premier resort destination.

Pool B

Favourites Bay of Plenty and Auckland made the top eight when they played out an exciting decider. Heem scored a brilliant try to give Auckland the tie 31-26 after they led 19-7 at halftime.

Malaki Fekitoa, in his first year out of Wesley College, showed his enormous promise as a playmaker with speed (he has represented Tonga U-19 on the wing) opening up the defence to score two tries.

Fekitoa also combined well with speedsters Tom Iosefo and Jonah Tuitoga as they beat Manawatu and Canterbury, despite a tenacious effort by the red-and-blacks who are captained by veteran Craig de Goldi.

Exciting winger Sekeli Bola stepped up in the Bay's win over Manawatu to score twice and with Ruki Tipuna, Solomon King and Jason Hona also finding form they shape as a threat to the defending champions in the quarter-final.

Pool C

Counties-Manukau topped Pool C to become the third team from the Auckland region to make the top eight.

Hawke's Bay looked impressive in their big victories over Wellington 42-14 and South Canterbury 40-7 with Weber and Matt Gordon particularly prominent. But the Steelers, who had two emphatic wins of their own (40-5 over South Canterbury and 33-21 over Wellington) shut down the Magpies to record a 24-17 victory. Hayden Steed's two tries sealed Counties-Manukau's win after the Bay drew level at 17-17.

"We wanted to start and finish well so we're very pleased," said captain Siose Tuatau. "Tomorrow is a new day so hopefully we'll take it a step further. If we don't come out firing tomorrow we'll be waiting another year."

With the imposing Manoa Levasua and speedsters Richie Ah Chong and David Raikuna in ominous form the Steelers will be a challenger in the Cup competition.

Pool D

The North Island dominated Pool D as well and Taranaki had too much class for North Harbour in the deciding clash, winning 21-10 over the 2009 national champion.

The amber-and-blacks, who earlier beat Northland 28-12 and Tasman 31-21 in a good contest, had the luxury of resting the Barrett brothers, captain Codey Rei and playmaker Lahmert.

Taranaki fed off North Harbour's mistakes to lead 14-5 at halftime with two tries to Ormond and Kylem O'Donnell scored soon after the break to seal the match despite a late score to Harbour's Phil Tuigamala (who bagged six tries on the opening day).

"It's great to come out of our pool in first place and we hope we can back it up tomorrow," said Ormond. "We're still a young time and have been doing some hard work in the preparation so fingers crossed!"

Quarter finals:
Cup
Waikato v Bay of Plenty
Hawke's Bay v Taranaki
Counties-Manukau v North Harbour
Otago v Auckland
 
Bowl
Horowhenua-Kapiti v Canterbury
South Canterbury v Northland
Wellington v Tasman
North Otago v Manawatu

Results
Pool A
Otago 19 Horowhenua Kapiti 10; Waikato 27 North Otago 7; Otago 36 North Otago 10; Waikato 22 Horowhenua Kapiti 19; Bay of Plenty 35 Manawatu 10; Auckland 21 Canterbury 12;
Pool B
Manawatu 10 Auckland 35; Bay of Plenty 12 Canterbury 7; Manawatu 19 Canterbury 10; Bay of Plenty 26 Auckland 31; Horowhenua Kapiti 33 Otago 26; Waikato 22 Otago 17
Pool C
Hawke's Bay 42 Wellington 19; Counties Manukau 40 South Canterbury 5; Hawke's Bay 40 South Canterbury 7; Counties Manukau 33 Wellington 21; Wellington 21 South Canterbury 21; Counties Manukau 24 Hawke's Bay 17;
Pool D
North Harbour 31 Tasman 26; Taranaki 28 Northland 12; North Harbour 33 Northland 21; Taranaki 31 Tasman 21; Tasman 10 Northland 29; Taranaki 21 North Harbour 10;