Fiji defended their Las Vegas Sevens crown in style after coming from behind to win in a tense final against Australia, as South Africa claimed third spot and the Japanese side continue to impress as they reached the plate final against New Zealand (NZL) Meanwhile, England had their worst ever tournament result in recent history. Read about the finals results and evens Series standings compiled by Last Word On Sports writer Jovilisi Waqa.
Fiji Defends Las Vegas Sevens Crown For Cyclone Victims
It was a special win, as they dedicated their win to the victims of Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston which claimed 43 lives across the Islands and left thousands homeless. The come-from-behind-win was the icing on the cake as the Flying Fijians had lost their opening game to the Samoans, but recovered in style to progress through to defend their 2015 title.
In the Cup final, it took only two minutes for Australia to cross the Fiji line through Sam Meyers. That first try went unconverted, and two more quick tries saw them 15-0 up at halftime. They had Fiji in ‘sixes and sevens’ with tough defense and hard rucking at the breakdown, frustrating the Fijians with quick defensive line-speed which gave the South Sea Islanders no room to ‘strut their stuff’.’
Returning to the ground much more determined, it took them a few minutes into the second half to get going, and with his first touch off the bench Kitione Taliga scored under the posts after running 8o meters. It brought fans a little smile and then Taliga went in for his second just minutes later [converted again] for a single point lead for the Aussie side. The smiles got wider and the tension was higher in the air when superstar Savenaca Rawaca sealed the victory from his own tryline when he ran a massive 108 meters to score under the post. BULA!
An exciting win, the Aussies have really stamped their mark in these last two tournaments and proved they will be the dark house come Rio de Janiero. Teams who don’t treat them seriously will be punished, they reached the final after beating the South African side 14-12 and the Fijians accounted for the unpredictable US Eagles sevens outfit 21-14 in cold and wet conditions.
After that big win, Fiji have also taken the outright lead in the World Sevens Series table with 91 points, followed by South Africa with 86 and New Zealand 82. The Aussies retain fourth spot with 73 points.
The Fijian players motto this week was #StrongerThanWinston and it really was.
Post game, Fiji Head Coach Ben Ryan said, “It’s been an awfully tragic time back in Fiji for the whole population and there’s going to be some dark days ahead. I am just glad that we have put a smile on the faces of all the people back home.”
South Africa takes third spot
The Blitzboks were taken to task by the hosts in the play-off match, but experience saw them through with new wonder-kid Tim Agaba playing vital role here beside the phenomenal Seabelo Senatla and Branco Du Preez stepping-up after the suspension to Rosko Specman for two high tackles in their semifinal loss against the Australia (which they lost after conceding two penalty tries through ill-discipline)
Head Coach Neil Powell was full of praises for debutante Bryan Habana’s contribution this weekend, “I am really happy with his first tournament. It is always tough to come in, as sevens is a totally different game to 15’s and I am really happy with the way he played it. He made some good decisions in defense; he still made one or two mistakes but that’s to be expected, as he doesn’t have the experience in sevens that he does in 15’s. He will get that experience the more he plays.”
New Zealand holds out brave Japan for the plate
The Kiwis lost the plot on Day two (in my opinion) losing badly to Kenya 22-0 then again in the quarter finals to South Africa 14-7, which has left many questions in faithful fans hearts. Initially, some asked if leaving Sonny Bill Williams out was a good call? His presence was always a intimidating factor to the opposition during the Wellington and Sydney legs [SBW was later diagnosed with a knee complaint has ended his North American tour]
Yes, they did claim the Plate final, looking very good in surviving a battle with the Los Pumas side to open Day Three and then walloped Japan in the final, after that side had accounted for the Kenyans earlier in the day. The Blossums were exceptional and Lemeki Lomano and Kameli Soejima again stood out for Japan, and for NZL Tim Mikkelson was the ever Mr Consistent leading the Kiwis and will build on this plate victory toward the Vancouver Sevens next weekend.
Wales walk away with the Bowl
Wales, led by inspirational captain Luke Treharne, ran in with four converted tries for a 28-14 win over the French side who found their ‘second wind’ over the last two days. Les Bleus look like the ‘French team of old’ but just in bits-and-pieces but if they put together a good consistent performance, they will do well in Vancouver. The Welsh on the other hand are starting to find their rhythm, with Tom Isaacs displaying some of the form that helped him win the Sevens World Cup with the Welsh team in 2009.
Samoa Wins Shield from Canada
Samoa defeated next weekend’s hosts Canada to claim the Shield title 24-12 in front of a good supporter base. With Samoa Toloa again leading the way, after their Day One victory over Fiji, they proceeded lose all their remaining games only to recover on the third day and claim the shield.
ICYMI: England 7s disappointing run at #LasVegas7s continued with a 21-19 loss to @FFRugby in bowl QF. pic.twitter.com/ekQwvRjxip
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 6, 2016
Worst Tournament Result from England
With all the money that the English Rugby Union pours in into their sevens program, not managing a win over three days is unacceptable. Simon Amor has a lot to answer for, fans have been venting their frustrations on social media, even as their female counterparts reached their own Invitational Women’s Sevens final but now the squad must look forward to Vancouver, to see if they improve or heads will really turn.
Portugal on the other hand need to step up big time if they wish to play in next year’s sevens series, now sitting in second to last while Russia make great advances, as does Japan.
LWOS Player Of The Final: Osea Kolinisau (Fiji)
The Fiji captain led by example in the final and after the game he spoke to worldrugby.org, telling them that “One week after the Cyclone struck, we went back into camp and all the players said we were going to play. I reminded the boys this week that we needed to remember the people back home who were the victims of Cyclone Winston and that we needed to give them something to be happy about, after all the devastation.” Well done Osea, you certainly helped the Fiji people stand tall again, proud as Fiji Defends Las Vegas Crown as we stay #StrongerThanWinston
USA Sevens Dream Team (voted for by World Rugby)
Sam Meyers (Australia), Lomano Lemeki (Japan), Jasa Veremalua (Fiji), Jerry Tuwai (Fiji), Allan Fa’alavau (Australia), Perry Baker (USA) and of course, the speedster Seabelo Senatla (South Africa)
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World Series Points Table
- Fiji – 91 points
- South Africa – 86
- New Zealand – 82
- Australia – 73
- USA – 64
- Argentina – 64
- Kenya – 52
- France – 36
- Scotland – 32
- Samoa – 31
- Canada – 23
- Wales – 22
- Japan – 20
- Russia – 12
- Portugal – 9
- Zimbabwe – 1
Pools For Vancouver Sevens – 13-14 March, 2016. Langton, Canada
Pool A: Fiji, Kenya, Samoa, Portugal
Pool B: Australia, Wales, Russia, Canada
Pool C: South Africa, Argentina, Scotland, Brazil
Pool D: USA, New Zealand, France, England
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