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Dubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

The Pacific Islanders beat England 28-17 in a game that turned on four-try Fijian blitz in the last three minutes of the first half.

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It also saw the defending World Series champions, Fiji, put down a big marker ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio next year.

The opening score came after a Fijian mistake on attack, England countering from inside their 22 and the ball being hacked ahead before Tom Bowen showed great composure to pick it up and jog over.

Savenaca Rawaca got Fiji on the board in the fourth minute, on the back of a string of penalties which followed the main theme of referees at the tournament – inconsistency turning the breakdown into a lottery.

Some Fijian magic gave Fiji their second try, a sweetly-timed offload giving the five-pointer to  Jasa Veremalua, before poor defending gifted I a try. The rout continued when Jerry Tuwai scored on the stroke of half-time to make it 28-7 at the break.Dubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

England looked to play a more structured game after the break, with the reward coming in a try for Bowen (his second) in the third minute of the second half.

The English continued to apply pressure, as the Fijians even took to kicking – an uncharacteristic tactic for them – repeatedly being pushed back deep into their half.

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However, the English struggled to find the desired gaps in a very physical Fijian defensive wall.

Phil Burgess scored with a minute left on the clock, as England continued to press hard, but that was ultimately too little too late and Fiji claimed the win.

* In the third-place play-off the Americans confirmed their status as one of the game's most impressive emerging forces, beating New Zealand for a second time in the tournament – their comprehensive 31-12 win earning them some impressive silverware.

Sherwin Stowers opened the scoring in the second minute, but the Americans hit straight back with tries by Folau Niua, Nate Augspurger and Will Holder to give the Yanks a 19-7 lead at half-time.

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Garrett Bender was held up over the line, as the Americans searched for a fourth try early in the second half, before Augustine Pulu was sin-binned in the 12th minute. The extra space afforded to the Eagles saw Perry Baker sprint over for a crucial try with two minutes left on the clock.

Will Holder sealed a comprehensive win with his second try a minute from time, before Lewis Ormond got a consolation score after the hooter for full-time had gone.

* In the Plate Final South Africa scored a scintillating try in extra time to win a thrilling contest with Australia 19-14.Dubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

Sam Myers opened the scoring for Australia in the fourth minute, with a string of breakdown penalties keeping the BlitzBoks pinned inside their own half. Ed Jenkins scored a second for the Aussies, when the officials missed some blatant obstruction on a South African defender – giving the Aussies a 14-0 lead at the break.

With Juan de Jongh butchering a try by losing the ball after having already crossed the line, it was up to Albertus Smith to break the BlitzBoks' duck in the second half. The South Africans' high error count continued to cost them, with the inconsistent rulings also making the breakdown a lottery. Smith got SA's second try after the full-time hooter – taking the game into extra time.

Francois Hougaard scored the match winner – the BlitzBoks, with some slick handling, working their way up-field, before Hougaard's great stepping caught Aussie skipper Ed Jenkins flatfooted.

* In the minor competitions Canada won the Shield when they beat Japan 19-17 in the Final – a missed conversion in the final seconds handing the win to the Canadians – with France beating Scotland 24-154 in the Bowl Final, the French taking a 24-0 lead before the Scots scored two consolation tries in the last four minutes.

Cup semifinals

Earlier It is Fiji and England advanced to the Final.

Declan O'Donnell opened the scoring for New Zealand in the fourth minute, following a build-up in which DJ Forbes was very prominent. Both teams had other first-half chances, but a higher-than-usual error count saw the Kiwis cling to that 5-0 lead to the break.Dubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

After some intense and physical exchanges in the opening minutes of the second half, Viliame Sevaka Mata drew it level for Fiji with five minutes left on the clock. And a New Zealand mistake saw Pio Tuwai take advantage of some sloppy Kiwi defence to put Fiji into the lead the two minutes remaining on the clock. Fiji then turned on the charm and Jasa Veremalua sealed a 19-5 victory.

The England versus United State semifinal was barely two minutes old when Matai Leuta sprinted over to give the Eagles an early lead. Zach Test added a second and after four minutes the Americans held a 12-0 lead. Josh Watkins pulled one back for England less than a minute from half-time and Richard de Carpentier reclaimed the restart for England's second try, to make it 12-all at the break.

The Eagles again scored early in the second half, Perry Baker creating the opportunity for Maka Unufe to sprint over. With two minutes left on the clock Alex Gray cut through on a sharp angle to level the scores up at 19-all. Almost five minutes after the hooter for full-time had already gone Phil Burgess ran the perfect angle to break American hearts and secure England a 24-19 win.

Plate semifinals

South Africa and Australia will meet in the Plate Final.

Ed Jenkins got the scoring underway for Australia in the third minute, using a great fend to beat the cover, and scored another to give his team a 14-0 half-time lead. When Pama Fou scored a minute after the restart the Aussies' 21-0 lead seemed insurmountable. However, tries by Falemiga Selesele and Samoa Toloa gave the Samoans hope, before a Henry Speight try wrapped up a 28-10 win for the Australians.Dubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

Two Cheslin Kolbe tries – the Stormers star using his stepping and a great dummy – put the South Africans on their way to a 19-0 half-time lead – the third try from hot-stepping 15-a-side convert Francois Hougaard. Justin Geduld scored an intercept try three minutes into the second half and from 0-26 down Argentina were a beaten team. Axel Muller eventually opened Argentina's account with two minutes remaining, but they were not a match for the BlitzBoks – who won 26-5.

Bowl semifinals

France will meet Scotland in the Bowl Final, after they disposed of Kenya and Wales respectively.

Kenya, looking like an uncoached team relying on a handful of veterans to create the spark, had no answer to a determined French team – going down 7-33. For France Terry Bourahoua, who joined Seabelo Senatla as the tournament's leading try-scorer, scored two of the team's five tries and also added four conversions.

Scotland, who came from behind twice, scored a try in dying seconds when Robbie Nairn went over for a 17-14 win. Luke Treharne put Wales in the lead, before tries to Mark Robertson and Jamie Farndale either side of the half-time break gave Scotland a 10-7 lead. Lloyd Evans put Wales back in the lead with just over a minute to go, before Nairn found himself on the right wing and turned on the afterburners to get Scotland into the Bowl Final.

Shield semifinalsDubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

Japan and Canada advanced to the Shield Final – with Japan sneaking a 21-19 win over Russia, after Shunya Goto scored a try well into extra time, while Canada disposed of Portugal 31-14.

Cup quarterfinals:

Earlier the United States continued their giant killing act when they knocked South Africa out in the quarterfinals.

The Yanks recorded a 21-19 win, coming back from trailing 7-19 in a match that turned on a yellow card – when BlitzBok Seabelo Senatla was yellow-carded for tackling an opponent in the air, minutes after scoring a try. The Yanks scored two crucial tries in that period.

England beat Argentina 14-7 in another thrilling quarterfinal.

World Series champions Fiji recorded a 19-12 win against Australia) and New Zealand a 24-21 triumph over Samoa in their respective quarterfinals.

Fiji lead 7-5 at half-time, following tries by Isake Katonibau (for Fiji) and Pama Fou. Osea Kolinisau scored for Fiji early in the second half and when Savenaca Rawaca went over with three minutes to go, Fiji held what seemed an insurmountable 17-5 lead. Lewis Holland pulled Australia back into the contest with a score a minute from time, but the late rally ended with an Aussie knock-on and Fiji advanced to the semifinals.

New Zealand took a 12-0 half-time lead, after tries from Gillies Kaka and Sherwin Stowers. In the first seven minutes the Kiwis were just too clinical. Samoa came back much stronger after the break – a Tila Mealoi try getting them back into the game, before Joe Webber stretched his team's lead to 10 points with three minutes remaining. Samoa kept fighting, with two tries by Samoa Toloa seeing the Pacific Islanders a 21-19 lead. There was just enough time for the restart and running from deep the Kiwis worked the ball to Dylan Collier, who sprinted clear for the winning try.

It would have been a tryless first half between England and Argentina, but for a try by Phil Burgess after the half-time hooter, coming from a mistake by the Argentineans inside their 22. The South Americans hit back soon after the restart, a well-worked try by Santiago Alvarez levelling up the scores at 7-all. However, Daniel Bibby sealed the win for England with a try in the 14th minute. There was enough time for the restart, but Argentina botched their attempt to run it out from their own 22.

The Americans opened the scoring in the third minute, working space for Perry Baker on the right wing, form a set move. Justin Geduld levelled the scores for the BlitzBoks, when he punched on a stray pass. Philip Snyman then put the South Africans into the lead, collecting a floating pass and jogging over for  12-7 half-time lead. The tournament's leading try-scorer Seabelo Senatla went over for a 19-7 lead to the BlitzBoks, with just over four minutes remaining. The flyer turned villain a minute later when he was sin-binned for tackling an opponent in the air. It wasn't surprising the Americans found extra space, with tries by Matai Leuta and Carlin Isles giving the Yanks a 21-19 lead with less than two minutes remaining. A couple of questionable calls by the referee saw Americans win a penalty and a scrum, allowing them to hold on for the win.

Cup semifinalsDubai Sevens: Fiji just too good in the desert

(kick-off is local time – GMT plus four hours)

Fiji v New Zealand (16.41)

England v United State (17.03)

Plate semifinals

(kick-off is local time – GMT plus four hours)

Australia v Samoa (15.57)

Argentina v South Africa (16.19)

Kenya advanced to the Bowl semifinals, but the African outfit required a sudden-death, extra time score to beat Japan 17-12. The teams were level 12-all after regulation time. France (who beat Russia 38-5), Wales (who beat Canada 24-14 in a hard-fought match) and Scotland (with a 21-14 win over Portugal in a ding-dong affair) will also contest the Bowl competition.

Japan, Russia, Canada and Portugal will contest the Shield semifinals.

We bring you all the Day Two results!

Shield Final

Japan 17-19 Canada

Bowl Final

France 24-14 Scotland

Plate Final

Australia 14-19 South Africa (in extra time – 14-all after regulation full-time)

Third-place play-off:

New Zealand 12-31 United States

Cup Final

Fiji 28-17 England

Shield semifinals

Japan 21-19 Russia

Canada 31-14 Portugal

Bowl semifinals

Kenya 7-33 France

Wales 14-17 Scotland

Plate semifinals

Australia 28-10 Samoa

Argentina 5-26 South Africa

Cup semifinals

Fiji 19-5 New Zealand

England 24-19 United State

Bowl quarterfinals:

Japan 12-17 Kenya (in sudden-death extra time, 12-all after regular full-time)

France 38-5 Russia

Wales 24-14 Canada

Scotland 21-14 Portugal

Cup quarterfinals:

Fiji 19-12 Australia

New Zealand 24-21 Samoa

England 14-7 Argentina

South Africa 19-21 United States

* Click here for Friday's REPORT and POOL STANDINGS!

Sources: @WorldRugby & @rugby365com

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