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New Zealand captain DJ Forbes has admitted Hong Kong Sevens winners Samoa have grabbed a psychological advantage in the race for glory on the IRB Sevens World Series.

Samoa's 24-21 defeat of Forbes' men in the Hong Kong final made it five-from-five in matches between the sides this season. The kiwis have not lost to any other team thus far on the Series.

With just two tournaments remaining in London and Edinburgh in late May, Samoa lead with 124 points while New Zealand have 121. Third-placed Fiji have a distant 94, meaning it is effectively a two-horse race for the title and one which Forbes and coach Gordon Tietjens must lift their team for.

"They've got that mental edge on us now but Sevens can go any way," Forbes said speaking to the IRB.
"We're still in the hunt, that's the main thing, and we've got two more tournaments to front up. It's going to be a long break to make sure we dig deep and come out firing in London and Scotland."

The loss in the prestigious Hong Kong final was New Zealand's best effort against the Samoans in this series. The match was there for the taking when two Kurt Baker tries put them 14-0 up before Samoa had touched the ball.
"Not taking anything away from Samoa but we've beaten ourselves again," Forbes said.

"We were just pushing those 50-50s and paid the price. It's heart-wrenching. We had some good support here and a good team. No superstars, just a bunch of hard-working grafters and that was probably the pleasing thing."

‘Composure’ the key for Samoa

Samoa coach Stephen Betham said composure was key to their victory, "just keeping ourselves in the game and knowing that the game isn't over until the final whistle".

"(At 14-0 down) I sent a message onto the guys that as long as we got points before half time we were still in with a chance, and just to keep their cool. Twenty minutes is a long time and I take my hat off to them," Betham said.

"(Composure) it's something that was missing before in Samoan rugby but we're working on their mental abilities, especially to overcome mental barriers, and we're slowly achieving that.

"We've still got two to go, still a long way to go, but we'll enjoy the win."