All Blacks Sevens have been beaten by Samoa in the bronze medal playoff at the London Sevens overnight, but still had plenty to celebrate at Twickenham.
The 24-19 defeat consigned the New Zealanders to fourth overall at the tournament, but having already been crowned champions at Toulouse last weekend, they were still awarded the overall World Series trophy for the 14th time, as the 2023 season wrapped up in England.
Argentina took out gold with a 35-14 win over shorthanded Fiji in the final to claim their third title of the season.
After going undefeated in pool play, the NZ men scraped past France 19-17 in the quarter-finals to set up a date with old foes Fiji.
After New Zealand had led at halftime, Viwa Naduvalo ran in a final minute try to steal a 19-17 victory for Fiji.
In their playoff for third, All Blacks Sevens started strongly, racing to a 14-0 lead courtesy of tries to Xavier Harris and Brady Rush.
But Samoa fought back to level the scores with less than a minute remaining, when a turnover from an NZ restart saw Taunuu Niulevaea bolt clear down the touchline to seal the final podium spot for his side.
Last weekend, Black Ferns Sevens were also crowned overall champions, after going undefeated through the final six tournaments with a winning streak of 36 games to finish with gold in France.
