Australia turn on the style for Andy Friend’s final curtain

Australia finished the men’s sevens with a performance that they and their departing coach Andy Friend can be proud of.

Australia coach Andy Friend is applauded from the field after coaching the men’s sevens team for the last time. Picture: Getty Images

Australia have finished the Commonwealth Games men’s rugby sevens with a performance that they and their departing coach Andy Friend can be proud of as they disposed of Scotland 26-0 in the playoff for fifth yesterday.

In the gold medal match, New Zealand made up for the disappointment of the Rio Games by defeating Olympic champions Fiji 14-0, while England won the bronze by beating World Series leaders South Africa 21-14.

Australia had promised the crowd a performance and they certainly turned it on.

Three of the four tries were directly attributable to quick-stepping halfback Maurice Longbottom and there certainly was frustration in the voice of the Scottish coach John Dalziel as he tried to tell his players not to fall for the old trap of trying to smash the little man. Each time Longbottom teased and taunted them and twice in the first half he drew so many defenders that the play just opened up for Jesse Parahi to power through to score.

He was at it again at the start of the second half, kicking ahead for Lachie Anderson to regather and score. And with less than two minutes left, it was Ben O’Donnell’s moment to turn on the footwork, wrong-footing the Scottish defence and unloading to Boyd Killingworth for Australia’s final try.

“Moss is a unique talent,” said Friend when asked about Longbottom. “I’m sure there are more Mosses out there and what we’ve got to do is go out and find them. I truly believe the indigenous race is suited to sevens.”

Friend conceded he probably would continue coaching.

“The time I was sacked (by the Brumbies) someone told me I was just like a jockey and to find another horse. So I’ll probably coach again. If I do go back to 15-a-side I’m going to put far more time into coaching basic skills.”

That much sevens has taught him, although he admitted its lessons ran much deeper.

“For me, coaching is about more than coaching a bloke to play football. It’s the other stuff which is just as, if not more important,” he said. “It’s an extended family. I’ve got two boys of my own and one of the quality things you can do is to help create a better person and my wife and I have done that. But to have an extended family there and do something similar, that’s pretty special.”