Aus Sevens boss tired of 'being the bridesmaid'

The Thunderbolts were thrashed 34-5 by Fiji in the semi's then pipped 14-12 by South Africa in the third-place playoffs, leaving Sevens boss Andy Friend unimpressed. 

"I've told the boys I can't question their character but we also need to improve our execution under fatigue."

"We had a solid performance against England which makes our performance against Fiji hurt even more. I don't think we missed a tackle all game against England but we missed seven tackles in something like the first minute against Fiji. That's not good enough.

The Aussies have reached the semi-finals in each of the last four World Series tournaments they have played, but are still searching for an elusive win.

Friend added: "In my opinion, we have different players that suit different teams. Each game is slightly different. While we can take positives from the weekend - fourth spot shouldn't be taken lightly - we don't want to keep being the bridesmaids."

The 15-point haul from Hong Kong sees Andy Friend's side cement fourth spot in the Sevens World Series standings, 17 points behind third-placed South Africa and ahead of the USA in fifth by the same margin.

With just three rounds of the season remaining, the 2015/16 Sevens World Series turns to Singapore next weekend (16-17 April) for the first time since 2006.