Fiji celebrate back-to-back wins at the famous Hong Kong Sevens

by Paul Cook –

Fiji have picked up their second Cup win of the 2012/13 World Sevens Series with a dramatic come from behind victory over first time finalists, Wales. Trailing 19-0 at half-time, the Pacific Islanders roused themselves for a second half revival and scored 23 unanswered points to become the first country to claim two Cup victories this season.

The win moved them into second place on the series ladder behind New Zealand, whom they beat in the semi-final and who are fast becoming Fiji’s ‘bunnies’, despite their lofty position in the Sevens game. The two nations have played each other four times in this year’s series, with Fiji now holding a 3-1 lead and averaging 25pts per game against the reigning series champions. If they can improve their consistency across the remaining three tournaments, they look like being the one side who the All Blacks Sevens may actually fear coming down the back straight.

For Wales, it was a heartbreaking end to their most successful tournament since the World series began. Incredibly, the world champions had never even reached a Cup Final, let alone won one but wins over Australia, Argentina, Canada and Kenya had earned them a shot at their first ever title. After a dominant first half had produced two tries from Cory Allen and one from Alex Webber without reply, they could have been forgiven for thinking that their name was on the trophy but anyone who’s watched Sevens down the years knows that Fiji are never finished until the final whistle.

A sublime exhibition of attacking, ball-in-hand rugby in the second stanza simply blew the Welsh off the park, as Fiji forced their opponents into mistakes and then pounced with lethal precision. A couple of tries from substitute Osea Kolinisau and another from Samisoni Viriviri drew them level before Kolinisau grabbed the match – and tournament – winner, with his third in the final minute.

Osea Kolinisau was the Cup Final hat-trick hero for Fiji

The hat-trick hero was understandably elated with the comeback and paid tribute to the team’s belief at half-time. “We just said that we were not to lose hope and keep the faith and keep on working because ten minutes is a lot of time in Sevens. It’s a really good feeling to go back-to-back [in Hong Kong] and especially to be the first team this season to win two Cup titles. We hope to continue this in Japan.”

Also on hand to revel in his nation’s triumph was Sevens legend, Waisale Serevi. The most recent inductee into the IRB Hall of Fame, he’s only too aware of the magnitude of the victory in terms of the tournaments’ history and also in light of the World Cup which takes place in Moscow in June. “To win the Hong Kong Sevens is like winning the World Cup,” he beamed, “it is the pinnacle of the IRB Sevens series. To win tournaments is important before the World Cup and for the boys to get the rhythm of winning.”

The comeback wasn’t the first Fiji had to pull off on the final day, having trailed New Zealand by 14 points to nil at one point in the semi-final before a Viriviri double got them back on track. That swung the game the way of the Islanders and another double from Jasa Veramalua paved the way for a 33-14 victory over their arch-rivals. There’s certainly no lack of heart or spirit in this Fijian team.

The All Blacks Sevens had come into the semi-final on the back of a perfect first day and a last minute win over Samoa in the Quarters but the loss to Fiji meant they had to content themselves with a third place finish after defeating Kenya 36-5. The ‘Shujaa’ had put in another impressive performance over the weekend before falling to Wales in the other semi-final but with their legs clearly tiring, they were no match for the might of the Kiwis in the penultimate game of the tournament.

Their efforts however, did earn them enough points to move up to 5th on the series ladder, where they now sit just behind South Africa. The ‘Blitz Bokke’ fell from the heights of Cup Final victory in Las Vegas in the last series round, to two defeats on day one this time out and an eventual loss in the Bowl semi-final to England. Proof again that backing up one successful tournament with another in this year’s series is the difference between New Zealand and everyone else.

Samoa recovered from their last eight Cup exit to beat a fast improving Australia in the Plate semi-final before defeating Canada in the Final to maintain a spot in the series top three. It was the Canadian’s fourth final appearance of this year’s series and with Nate Hirayama currently sitting third on the season points standings and Sean Duke third on the season try scoring chart, they obviously have players that can make a difference in any game.

Samoa maintained a top three spot on the series ladder by lifting the Plate trophy

Wildcards Hong Kong lost all three matches on day one but turned it around in superb fashion to defeat Argentina and the USA on day two on their way to the Bowl Final, where they were defeated 42-7 by England – who are making an unwanted habit of featuring in the lower half of the draw come finals time.

Hong Kong’s achievement was another shot in the arm for the burgeoning sport and for the IRB and a further vindication of the inclusion of wildcards at every event in this year’s series. Hong Kong join Zimbabwe, Tonga and Uruguay as wildcard entries that have reached one of the four finals at their nominated event. The strength in depth of the global game is rapidly improving.

Last but by no means least, France wrapped up another trophy to follow their Bowl success in Las Vegas, with a 19-14 Shield win over Argentina. The Sevens travelling circus now moves on to Tokyo this weekend, expect more drama, more excitement, more winners and more tries!

World Series Standings after Round 6

1. NEW ZEALAND    113pts

2. FIJI                           88pts

3. SAMOA                   84pts

4. SOUTH AFRICA      78pts

5. KENYA                     72pts

Round 7 takes place in Tokyo, Japan this weekend