We bring you reaction from the final day of action at the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens 2008.

Cup Final

DJ Forbes, New Zealand captain (winners)

“It is special to us and we have made a bit of history which is something that the boys can be proud of. We want to be a team that is remembered and hopefully we have done that. I cannot say enough about the boys, we have done a lot of hard work this year, put a few things together and we are unbeaten.

“Seven tournaments in a row is pretty special and five this year is something that will go down in the record books but we still want to finish strong and perform in Adelaide.

“The only thing that is going to stop us is ourselves and our errors. We pride ourselves on our defence. Out of the six matches we limited each side to a max of two tries per match, so we are proud of that. Gordon (Tietjens) has been in the game for 14 years, while this is the first season for the majority of us, so the experience makes a real difference.

“You have to be confident going into finals games. It is all about pressure and we have certainly taken things forward. We have done seven in a row, so why can’t we go all the way?”

Gordon Tietjens, New Zealand coach (winners) 

“I am very proud of them in putting all those games together and we did it pretty convincingly too. We had a magnificent semi final against Fiji and had a slow start against Wales in the quarters, but we topped it off with a good performance in the final against South Africa.

“The physicality of my players in contact was outstanding and keeping the ball when we needed to and also scoring some good tries to go with it. You know it was a really good team performance.

“Hong Kong is special. It is not just about winning, look at all the people here and all the activities and it means a lot to us as do the 30 points for winning.

“It is never done and dusted, We still have three tournaments to go. We want to do well at Adelaide, which is important for us.

“DJ Forbes leads from the front and he is ruthless in the contact areas and is just a great leader who inspires the players. He is a different kind of captain to Meesam or Rush, but he is a special captain.

“We need to go to Adelaide and look no further than our pool games and get that consistency and then we will kick on from there.”

Paul Treu, South Africa coach (runners up) 

“The last time that we played in a Hong Kong final was 11 years ago at Rugby World Cup Sevens. Back then we had world class players like Andre Joubert, Andre Venter, Chester Williams and Joost Van der Westhuizen, whereas there are no big name players in this squad. To come out here and go all the way to the Hong Kong Cup final is an awesome achievement for our young team.

“One thing that we have to realise is that we will never beat New Zealand physically. We will have to play the game much smarter and there were a few times were we went into contact and lost the ball. Those are areas that we need to think about and just identify the opportunities on the field.

“In terms of confidence we are really looking forward to Adelaide and if we can keep our momentum that we have built over the past two tournaments in San Diego and here in Hong Kong, I honestly believe that we can reach all three remaining finals.”

Cup semi finals

Paul Treu, South Africa coach

“It is always tough playing against South Africa as they are a very physical team. I am just glad that we stuck in there and could cope with the pressure as Hong Kong is a very difficult tournament to play in and I am very happy for the boys for making their first Hong Kong final.

“We played fairly well in the first two matches in our pool, but from the Argentina match right through to the semi it was very tight as we clinched those matches in the dying seconds. That really speaks volumes about the character of this team and we must now relax and look to play our best against New Zealand.

“New Zealand will definitely try to come out and out-muscle us at the breakdowns as they are a very physical team. We can outsmart them though and I would like to emphasise with our players that we need to go out there in the final and just play it and that is where we can beat them.”

Bowl semi finals

Keith Robertson, Hong Kong

“They (Zimbabwe) came out flying right from the kick off and won a scrum from a knock on and scored immediately. It was hard to pick ourselves up after that having gone behind so early, but that’s rugby and the top teams are able to apply pressure for the full 14 minutes and if you take your foot off the pedal for two minutes then that’s the game over.

“It is incredible, the support here. It is indescribable, but it is definitely a massive help. We went to Adelaide last year after this event last year and nobody knew who we were, which made it quite difficult to pick ourselves up. With everyone’s eyes on us here there was no way that we would take our foot off the pedal.

“Being a sweeper is a position that the likes of Simon Amor made his own. He is a small guy and so am I and perhaps we don’t like the contact so much, but we are the last line of defence. If we make a tackle we are heroes, if we miss it then it is not such a big deal as they are through the line anyway. It is a good position and I like the responsibility. It also gives me a chance to catch my breath and recover.

“In the game against Japan Rugby World Cup Sevens qualifying was very much on the mind. For us to qualify we have to be in the top two in Asia, if not the top and Japan are the top in Asia anyway, so to defeat them was a massive experience and we just have to take that forward. If we can replicate that performance in the qualifiers then we have a great opportunity to go to Dubai next year and there is nothing I would like more.” 

Cup quarter finals 

James O’Connor, Australia

“We are a pretty young squad and we have pulled together nicely over the past week. It was disappointing not to get the win as I thought that we had the talent over South Africa. But at the end of the day they played better sevens and finished better than us, so it was bad luck.

“It is awesome here in Hong Kong. It is the best experience ever, there is a big crowd and they get you up when you are tired. It is the best experience.”

Bill Millard, Australia coach

“Our goal was to get to the quarters and to do that we had to beat two very good teams. It is just disappointing that we were right in that game and with a little inexperience we let them back in with some soft tries, but I am very proud of them.

“We only came together last week and I am really pleased with the professional nature that the squad has prepared for the sevens. We just have to be a bit more clinical and not give away soft tries. We had a couple of tough calls with a disallowed try and a restart, which killed us.

“It is a massive experience for the younger players performing in this cauldron here. The Australian people don’t understand, the Super 14 coaches don’t understand to see a future Wallaby like James O’Connor, as Drew Mitchell and Adam Ashley Cooper, have such an impact out there under enormous pressure progresses his development two or three years, and that’s my job.

“Walks has been outstanding. He is incredibly relaxed as an old head and is still learning sevens and is 34 years old, so he is finding it a bit tough, but the boys love having him here and it has been a pleasure having him around.

“Campo has been undertaking one on ones with the boys and chipping away, so it has been nice to have that support and a little experience around us.”

Ben Gollings, England

“We came here not really knowing what our expectations were as we did not really know what we have as a squad, but the boys have really stepped up to the plate and have done more than we could have asked. Sevens is on the bounce of a ball and you end up on the losing side and I think that ball could have gone anywhere. To be honest, I think that either ourselves or Samoa could have gone to the final and it was one of the big quarter finals of the day.

“I think that the young lads have learnt a hell of a lot here and hopefully we can go on to Adelaide next week and build on the performances here.

“The experience here is massive for the development of the younger players. The only bigger experience is playing full senior fifteens rugby for your country in front of a home crowd. Hong Kong is absolutely incredible and it is like a second home for us and I think the boys will have learnt a hell of a lot here, it is a pressure cooker and you cannot afford to make any mistakes.

“The boys have got to take a lot of heart from what we have achieved. We did not disgrace ourselves by any means and that will give us a lot of confidence. Next week the lads just need to go out there and back themselves which is what sevens is all about.";