Just as they had a week ago in the home leg of the 2015-16 Sevens Series, New Zealand grabbed victory in the final moments with a match-winning try in the final. 

Sir Gordon Tietjens side trailed by two points with the clock at zero, before finding space out wide to send the tournament's best player Rieko Ioane over in the corner to claim victory over the hosts, Australia

Hat-trick hero Rieko Ioane is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the winning try at the Sydney Sevens (image via: Daniel Munoz - Getty)

The Aussies had welcomed back a number of players who had been rested last week in the Wellington leg, and they put on a good show for the home fans in what was a successful debut for the Sydney Sevens. 

In the back-and-forth final, the Kiwis came out on top for the second tournament on the bounce to join Fiji and South Africa at top spot in the series standings after four out of the ten legs. 

Kiwis and Aussies qualify after thrilling knockouts

After finishing top of their pool on Saturday, New Zealand faced an up-and-coming United States side in Sunday's first quarter-final. The match was a feisty affair, but the result was never really in doubt, with the US scoring a late consolation in a 24-7 defeat. 

Fiji joined New Zealand in the semi's after a 28-12 victory over Kenya thanks to a brace of tries from Savaneca Rawaca, with the South Africans easing through after a 26-0 win over Argentina

In the pick of the quarters, Henry Hutchinson scored a golden try in extra time to help the Australians knock off an injury-ravaged England 17-12 to book a date with the Blitzboke in the semi-final. 

The two semi-finals were extremely close affairs, with New Zealand holding off a late Fijian surge to win 14-12 in a thriller, whilst Australia overcame South Africa 12-7 thanks to tries from James Stannard and Lewis Holland

Rieko's final hat-trick hands Kiwis tournament win

In the hugely anticipated finale to the first ever Sydney Sevens competition, the game lived up to the hype, with both sides playing some thrilling rugby. 

The game was level at 12-12 after the first half, with Hutchinson grabbing a pair of tries for the hosts, which were equalled by Kurt Baker and Rieko Ioane. 

Sam Myers then regained the lead for Australia, before New Zealand fought straight back, with skipper Tim Mikkelson breaking one tackle before sprinting the length of the field. 

The scoring sequenced continued with the Australians scoring their fourth try thanks to a Greg Jeloudev breakaway, but once more they couldn't hold on with Ioane finding space to cross for the Kiwis. Baker missed the ensuing drop goal though, which meant Australia led by two points with around ten seconds remaining. 

Rieko's brother Akira Ioane managed to force the turnover in Australian territory which gave the Kiwis a chance to launch an attack as time expired. With the pressure at it's highest, and the crowd baying for a defensive holdout, the All Blacks managed to ship the ball wide where Rieko was waiting and managed to beat his man and skip over in the corner to grab his hat-trick and set off wild scenes of Kiwi celebrations. 

Aussies look ahead to Rio, with Las Vegas leg on the horizon

The loss was a heartbreaker for the Australians, but they can take a lot from this tournament as they look ahead to the remainder of the season, which includes the Rio Olympics which all teams are building towards.

Fiji beat South Africa 26-12 in the Bronze Final, whilst Argentina prevailed over Kenya to win the Plate. Canada claimed the Bowl, with Wales beating Russia to grab the Shield

The teams now have four weeks to refresh ahead of the fifth leg of the series which takes place in Las Vegas, with New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa tied atop of the rankings on 69 points. 

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