by Brendan Bradford on the Gold Coast - Australia made the perfect start to the Cup final but couldn’t stave off a fresher New Zealand side who ran away 40-19 winners in the opening tournament of the World Sevens Series on the Gold Coast. Backing up after an epic extra-time semi-final with South Africa and playing two men short because of injury, Australia scored two early tries but faded towards halftime as a rampant New Zealand side who had only conceded one try all tournament turned the screws. “We were a bit short-staffed in the end with a few injuries, but we tried our best but in the end they were just too good,” said Australian debutant Alex Gibbon. “We can build on this though and do better when we get everyone on the paddock. It wasn’t until the second half when they got two quick t