Veteran Tyla King’s ominous warning to Singapore Sevens opponents: New Zealand have yet to reach their full potential
- The Kiwis top the table from Australia on points difference after three straight wins, but a loss to France was a timely reminder
- Though the major prize this year is the Paris Olympics 100 days away, King says they will not take remaining two events lightly
New Zealand’s women go into next weekend’s sevens World Series stop in Singapore on top of the standings, and veteran Tyla King warned the team had still not reached its full potential.
Victory in Hong Kong earlier this month was the Black Ferns’ third in a row, after wins in Vancouver and Los Angeles, and put them just ahead of Australia on points difference.
There was a bump in the road in the form of a 26-21 loss at the hands of France in the pool stages, and King said that had tempered the excitement of the win.
“We learned a lot from that game and have been working on that, here at home and just around different conditions cause it was a bit wet when we did play them,” she said.
“But it was awesome to see how, as a team, we bounced back from that loss and then obviously came away with a tournament win. So, still excited and ready for this next tournament, but also knowing that we haven’t quite hit the full potential that we know this team can.”
With 18 points separating New Zealand and Australia, who are tied on 106, from France, who are third on 88, the league crown is likely to come down to a straight fight between the trans-Tasman rivals.
