The All Blacks Sevens have suffered a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final of the London Sevens at Twickenham.
The Aussies beat their trans-Tasman rivals in a world series final for the first time in 20 years.
Henry Paterson scored a hat-trick of tries, as Australia ran out 19-14 winners, after he also made a trysaving tackle to force the game into extra time.
New Zealand had earlier beaten Ireland and Fiji in their respective quarter-final and semi-final match-ups, and were favourites to knock off the surprising Australians, but it wasn't to be.
Paterson scored first to give his side a 7-0 halftime lead, before Akuila Rokolisoa and Leroy Carter crossed for converted tries, giving the Kiwis a 14-7. Paterson forced extra time and then provided the matchwinning effort.
Earlier, the All Blacks Sevens overturned a 14-point deficit to stun the flying Fijians and claim an unlikely 22-19 victory to book their spot in the final.
The battle for the world series title will come down to the final event at Los Angeles, after South Africa reclaimed top spot with 124 points with a fifth-placed finish at London.
Australia are just two points behind, with Argentina in third place on 118 points, after finishing ninth. Fiji round off the top four with 104 points.
After missing the first four tournaments of the calendar, New Zealand are ninth, finishing runners-up at Singapore and London.
