World champions Fiji won the Dubai Sevens for the second time in three years with a 28-17 victory over England in the Final on Saturday.
Fiji scored all of their points in the first half after falling behind to an early Tom Bowen try.
Savenaca Rawaca, Jasa Veremalua, Jerry Tuwai — who had suffered a bout of food poisoning overnight and had been on a drip before Saturday’s action — and Isake Katonibau grabbed Fiji’s four converted tries for a 28-7 lead at the break.
Photo: AFP
England, the 2010 and 2013 champions, rallied with late second-half tries through Phil Burgess and a second score for Bowen.
The series moves on to Cape Town next week with Fiji remaining the team to beat ahead of the sport’s debut at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year.
For Fiji coach Ben Ryan, a former England boss, it was a fourth Dubai triumph in six years as he saw his side sweep through the tournament.
They defeated Australia 19-12 in their quarter-finals with tries from Kotanibau, captain Osea Kolinisau and Rawaca.
That was followed up by a 19-5 win against New Zealand in the semi-finals thanks to scores from Viliame Mata, Pio Tuwai and Veremalua.
“England are a tough side so we are happy to come through as winners,” said Kolinisau, playing in his 43rd World Sevens event. “It keeps us on a roll for the next round in South Africa.”
South Africa won the Plate, France took the Bowl and the Shield went to Canada.
Ryan was delighted with his team efforts, hailing Fiji as the benchmark for Sevens excellence.
“We are ahead of the curve now compared to other teams and they will look at us now and try and work out how to negate that,” he told the Gulf News. “But it’s a tough assignment for them because as soon as they take their eye off what they are doing in order to nullify us then we are able to create this aura about us.”
England made the Final by seeing off Argentina 14-7 in the quarter-finals before getting the better of the US 24-19 in the last-four.
“We’ve got some young guys and ones coming back from injury so it’s challenging as a coach, but ultimately that is a very good Fiji team, loads of experience, loads of world class players,” England coach Simon Amor said.
In the third-place playoff, the improving US defeated New Zealand for the second time in two days, 31-12 to follow their 14-12 win in the pool stages.
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