Fiji sealed a third Gold Coast rugby sevens title with a try seconds from fulltime yesterday, getting their quest for a maiden Olympic medal off to a flying start.
Fiji won a thrilling final 31-24 against Pacific rivals Samoa, holding on for victory in the face of a brave Samoa fightback.
They cruised to a 26-0 lead in the first half, with Setefano Cakau scoring a try double, before Samoa piled on 24 unanswered points to trail by two points going into the final minute of the contest.
Photo: AFP
Jasa Veremalua’s strong run sealed the win for Fiji. He dived over in the corner to ensure Fiji lead the IRB World Sevens series after the first of nine events.
This year’s IRB World Sevens series doubles as a qualifier for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, with the top-four-ranked countries earning an automatic berth.
Fiji have never won an Olympic medal, but will be among the favorites if they can reach Rio.
Fiji did not lose a game in the weekend tournament, beating Australia 35-12 in Saturday’s final pool match before demolishing Wales (31-10), England (48-7) and Samoa to make it three wins from four trips to the Gold Coast.
England, who stunned New Zealand with a 31-7 win over the world champions in the quarter-finals, finished third with a 19-0 victory over South Africa.
New Zealand recovered from their quarter-final shock to win the consolation plate and fifth place in the tournament with a 36-21 win over Argentina.
It was the first time New Zealand have failed to make the final at the Gold Coast event since its inception three years ago.
The result was the All Blacks’ worst at an IRB sevens tournament since they also finished fifth in Dubai in 2011.
Australia had to settle for a share of seventh with Wales after they suffered back-to-back defeats yesterday.
The Thunderbolts fell agonizingly short in their quarter-final against Commonwealth Games champions South Africa, losing 12-10, with Cameron Clark missing a conversion after the full-time siren, before slumping to a 21-17 loss to Argentina in the plate semi-final.
The next leg of the world series is to be in Dubai in December.
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