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Nick Jordan

A new-look Auckland, who last won the National Sevens title in 2008, came from 12-26 down to beat Taranaki 36-26 in a composed performance in the Cup Final at the Queenstown Recreation Ground. Auckland saw off the challenges of Manawatu,

Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Otago and Counties-Manukau to win their 10th national title since the tournament began in 1975.

Coach Wayne Pivac enjoyed great depth off the bench, with substitutes Rocky Khan, Jarek Goebel and Tenina Sauileoge proving to be critical in the final, and combined the experience of captain Ed Cocker and Timoteo Iosua with the youthful exuberance of speedsters Malakai Fekitoa and Tom Iosefo and playmaker Khan.

"They are a young side, there's been a lot of hard work, we've restored a few Auckland traditions and the guys have responded really well," said Pivac. "To come back against Taranaki, who are a fit side, like that was very pleasing and I'm proud of the composure they showed."

Nailbiter for the Queenstown faithful

The gorgeous summer conditions that had featured over the weekend continued for the Final at the Wakatipu Rugby Club in New Zealand's premier resort town.

New Zealand international Bryce Heem opened the scoring for Auckland but rising star Beauden Barrett set up Samu Vunisa nicely to give Taranaki the lead.

Tom Iosefo, the Samoan international, hit back immediately showing great acceleration to score under the posts however Barrett ghosted through a gap to sprint away for Taranaki's second and a 14-12 lead. Captain Codey Rei went over immediately prior to halftime as Taranaki started to dominate possession.

The 19-12 halftime lead became 14 points when Barrett scored his second, but Iosefo set the crowd alight going over twice to take the score to 24-26. Substitute Goebel beat several defenders to give Auckland the lead back and from the restart they won a scrum on the Taranaki 22, which led to a try to Sauileoge and the 36-26 victory.

Iosefo, who scored a hat-trick, was the star of the final with Barrett, who grabbed two on the losing side, not far behind.

Taranaki, whose buildup to the tournament started with a win in the Gold Coast International Sevens in November, were looking for their first title since 1982 and showed experience which belied their youth, fielding a team with every player under the age of 22. Coach Clark Laidlaw joins Gordon Tietjens' set up for the Wellington Sevens next month.

Auckland too good for neighbours and Southern men

Auckland had earlier won the battle of the big smoke 19-12 over Counties-Manukau in a tense semi-final.

Manoa Lesavua, the giant Fijian, rumbled over in the corner for the opening try as the Steelers dominated early possession, but Timoteo Iosua (who has played 27 IRB tournaments for Samoa) put Auckland into a narrow lead with a converted try.

Leading 7-5, Auckland were forced to defend as Counties-Manukau launched wave after wave and David Raikuna and Rey Lee-Lo narrowly missed tries on the stroke of half-time. Joe Tupe scored from a line-out to give Auckland a nine-point cushion which was reduced to two when Kaino Kaino crashed over. Auckland's young guns stepped up again to send Iosefo over for the clincher and take them into their first final since 2008.

Captain Ed Cocker was relieved to get through against their neighbours.

"This game could have gone either way," said the veteran loose forward. "The boys are growing in confidence and Tom and Timoteo have experience with Samoa and Rocky has been playing a lot of Sevens so that helped this time around."

Auckland stormed into the semis with an emphatic 38-14 victory over Otago.

The home side, the only South Island representative in the top eight, started with urgency and Buxton Popoali'i produced a great individual try to score the opener. But Fekitoa, Khan and Heem (shining in the unusual role of prop) all scored to give Auckland a 19-5 lead and it was ominous for the locals heading into the second half.

Iosefo showed his gas for Auckland's fourth, Goebel, returning from rugby league, came on as a substitute to grab another and Tupe sealed the victory with his try under the posts.

Taranaki fitness gets them into Cup

Taranaki knocked out favourites Bay of Plenty with a come-from-behind 24-14 win in the last four. The Bay continued their barren stretch at the National Sevens, which they have never won, but their was no denying the Taranaki enthusiasm.

Bay of Plenty's diminutive Matt Hodson scampered in for the opening try as he continued his march into contention for national honours, as did his captain Ruki Tipuna who went over a minute later. Jackson Ormond struck back immediately and Rei brought them even closer with a determined run for the corner, meaning Taranaki trailed 10-14 at half-time.

Ormond grabbed a double with a runaway from a dropped pass and Taranaki held a 17-14 lead which they extended when both Beauden and Kane Barrett set up a glorious try to Waisake Naholo.

Earlier, the Hurricanes derby saw any brotherly love put to one side as Taranaki and Hawke's Bay fought out a pulsating quarter-final contest which Taranaki won 21-19.

"We're stoked to come back twice and win that," said Rei. "Our bench has helped us a lot and to be able to bring on Waisake Naholo and Samu Vunisa was great."

Michael Ruru had an easy run for the opening try to the Magpies and their defence soaked up the Ferdinand pressure until Beauden Barrett broke clear to level the scores on the stroke of halftime.

Hawke's Bay went ahead again when Gillies Kaka scored after excellent lead up from Adam Bradey, Ruru and Brad Weber but a crucial turnover gave Kylem O'Donnell a chip and chase try. The conversion gave Taranaki the 14-12 lead which they didn't relinquish.

Substitute Naholo almost put it beyond doubt for Taranaki beating three players to score under the posts, although Tivaini Fomai brought it back to 19-21 and only a terrific Naholo spot tackle saved the day

Tietjens casts eye over new talent

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens rated the performances of several players as he finalises his 15-man training squad for the HSBC Sevens World Series in Wellington and Las Vegas.

Malakai Fekitoa, in his first year out of Wesley College, was named by Tietjens as the Player of Tournament and awarded the Joe Tauiwi Memorial Trophy. Fekitoa showed great vision, speed and all-round skill throughout the tournament.

Phil Tuigamala (North Harbour) scored 13 tries and must be in line for a national call up, with Tietjens acknowledging the performance of the young halfback.

"Tuigamala played well and Harbour collectively played well," he said. "There's lots of good players putting their hands up and better players are playing the game so it will be a tough job to pick out a squad."

Tietjens was pleased with the standard of play and particularly the fitness of the teams.

 "Taranaki and Auckland were the form teams coming into this tournament and BOP were the unlucky ones from the draw. You have to be mentally and physically fit to win tournaments and Auckland showed that, as well as a lot of skill. Taranaki were among the fittest sides here as well."

 Ruki Tipuna, the Bay of Plenty captain, was prominent for his side, Brad Weber (Hawke's Bay) showed nice touches on both attack and defence as his team made the semis of the Plate and George Tilsley announced his arrival sprinting in for four tries in a losing Wellington side.

 Harbour take home Plate

Phil Tuigamala was the star as an enthusiastic North Harbour won the Plate for the losing quarter-finalists, beating Waikato 47-15 in a scrappy final.

Tuigamala bumped over for his 11th and 12th tries of the weekend to give the Aucklanders a 12-0 lead which was extended to 19-0 by his brother Nalu. A try to Ben Botica after the halftime hooter gave Harbour a 26-0 lead which was too much for the Mooloo men.

Frank Halai got Waikato on the board but Tuigamala wasn't finished, scoring his third, before captain Luke Hamilton and Botica sealed the victory and their second successive Plate. Halai and Rory Grice each scored but could not give the score any respectability for Waikato.

"It was a fantastic effort by the Tuigamala boys," said Harbour captain Luke Hamilton. "The teams are so competitive here and any team could have beaten the other but I'm proud of the boys for sticking at it."

North Harbour took a while to overcome a dogged Otago in their semi-final, winning 42-19 after leading 21-7 at halftime. Botica was impressive for Harbour with two tries and a 100% goalkicking record.

 Waikato had beaten Hawke's Bay in a nailbiter in the other semi, winning 31-19 after it was 12-12 at half-time with Tivaini Fomai (Hawke's Bay) and Jordan Smiler and Halai each scoring doubles.

Earlier, the defending champions were eliminated in the first quarter-final.

Waikato were looking to turn around a loss to their Chiefs brothers last weekend, but Bay of Plenty made it two in a row, dominating throughout to win 19-12.

The Bay produced a stunning start when all seven players created a try to former international Jason Hona. Waikato, who were missing Tim Mikkelson, came straight back and Glen Robertson seized an opportunity to race away and tie the match 7-7 at halftime.

After a half of breathtaking, end-to-end rugby both teams threw everything into the second spell and a dropped ball for Waikato saw Matt Hodson pounce to give the Bay the lead 14-7. Hodson could only watch on as new star Declan O'Donnell stepped the defence and ran 60 metres to draw the Mooloo men to within two points.

However, the try was costly as O'Donnell limped off with a knee injury and BOP captain Ruki Tipuna controlled the final three minutes. Eventually Adam McGarvey went over in the corner to seal the match and avenge the defeat in last year's final.

"It's a great feeling to beat the defending champions," said Tipuna. "We know we have a quality side if we can put it together and we're pretty happy with the way we played as we were keen to keep it away from their big guys."

Counties-Manukau win over Blues brothers

Meanwhile, Counties-Manukau won the clash of the Blues franchise as they defeated cross-town rivals North Harbour 28-26 in yet another thriller.

Phil Tuigamala opened the scoring with his seventh try of the tournament after a determined stretch. Viliame Fihaki bolted in for the equaliser, former New Zealand triallist Hayden Steed set up David Raikuna for a 14-7 lead and Manoa Lesavua brilliantly won the kick off for Rey Lee-Lo to take Counties-Manukau out to 21-7 at half-time.

The explosive Raikuna produced another great burst to score his second and, with Steed and Kaino Kaino in charge in the midfield, Counties-Manukau looked to run away with the tie.

Tries to Luke Hamilton and two more to Tuigamala (the second which was brilliantly converted from the sideline by Botica) gave Harbour hope, however time ran out on the Shore boys and the South Aucklanders went into their second successive semi-final.

A head injury to North Harbour's New Zealand international Jack McPhee, who was carried off on a stretcher as a precaution, will concern Tietjens.

Sevens legend shows class

Manawatu won 12-7 over a tired Horowhenua-Kapiti, the defending Bowl champions, to win the Bowl while Canterbury, captained by Craig de Goldi, had an easy 43-7 win over neighbours Tasman to claim the Shield.

The veteran Sevens specialist was delighted to be part of the tournament.

 "I'm enjoying it back playing Sevens and sharing my experience and the young guys are taking on the learnings," de Goldi told Sky Sports. "We've been close, losing by less than a try on a couple of occasions, and it shows a lot of little things go in to winning a tournament."

De Goldi, who began his career on the West Coast of New Zealand, spent several years in Japan after playing 41 tournaments for New Zealand and now lives in Christchurch with his wife and young family.

 "I'm not sure Titch has got me on his little piece of paper this time - I think I'll leave that (the IRB Sevens) to the young fellas," de Goldi joked.

"I did go through a little pain in the training and there's still nowhere to hide but it is a lot of fun and I love it. You see old mates, make new mates and it's a wonderful occasion in Queenstown."

RESULTS

Cup

Final

Auckland 36 Taranaki 26

Semi finals

Taranaki 24 Bay of Plenty 14

Auckland 19 Counties-Manukau 12

Quarter finals

Bay of Plenty 19 Waikato 12

Taranaki 21 Hawke's Bay 19

Counties-Manukau 28 North Harbour 26

Auckland 38 Otago 12

Plate

Final

North Harbour 47 Waikato 15

Semi finals

Waikato 31 Hawke's Bay 19

North Harbour 42 Otago 19

Bowl

Final

Manawatu 12 Horowhenua-Kapiti 7

Semi finals

Horowhenua-Kapiti 31 South Canterbury 19

Manawatu 25 Wellington 14

Quarter finals

Horowhenua-Kapiti 17 Canterbury 12

South Canterbury 28 Northland 19

Wellington 21 Tasman 17

Manawatu 31 North Otago 21

Shield

Final

Canterbury 43 Tasman 7

Semi finals

Canterbury 21 Northland 19

Tasman 38 North Otago 14