Fabulous Fiji win in Hong Kong

Fiji took a giant step towards a second title with a 35-28 win over New Zealand in the Final of the Hong Kong leg of IRB Sevens World Series on Sunday.

NZ and Fiji, who had each won one of their two previous Cup Final meetings this season, produced one of the most sensational matches of the current series.

The win saw Fiji close the gap, on the IRB standings, to just two points on the Kiwis – New Zealand leading with 111 points and three tournaments remaining. Fiji have 109.

South Africa, who beat England in the third-place play-off, cemented third spot with 93 points – followed by England (89) and Samoa (82).

Samoa claimed the Plate with a 12-10 win over Argentina, while other silverware went to Kenya (beating the United States in the Bowl Final) and Canada (winning against Spain in the Shield Final).

We bring you all the Day Three action from Hong Kong!

Cup Final:

Fiji closed the gap on New Zealand, at the top of the IRB standings, to just two points with a 35-28 win a a Final that produced sensational rugby and some sublime offloads from both teams.

From the kick-off Fiji went on the offensive, displaying their brilliant flair, a move that ended with a try for Waisea Nayacalevu scoring the opener after almost two minutes. And just over a minute later Joeli Lutumailagi went over after collecting a favourable bounce from a kick ahead.

Wilson Jackman pulled one back for the Kiwis, after numerous phases and offloads – as the fast pace of the Final continued to entertain the packed stadium and millions of television viewers. Jackman scored a second just before the half-time break to tie it up at 14-all.

Two minutes into the second half and Setefano Cakau went over after a few quick-tap penalties caught the Kiwis short on defence. And a yellow card for playing a man in the air then removed Jackman from the field for two minutes.

Nikola Matawalu then went over for the Fijians’ fourth try, leaving the New Zealanders with a mountain to climb (14 points down) and  under three minutes left on the click.

Bryce Heem started the climb with a try that had its origins inside the Kiwi 22 – coming from a penalty against Fiji and some great support running.

However, from the restart the Fijians opened the New Zealand defence and Nayacalevu clinched the game with a 60-metre sprint.

The game ended on a sour note when Waisake Naholo, after going over for a consolation try, took exception to something one of the Fijians did and lashed out – sparking some unsavoury scenes in the ingoal area. It eventually calmed down and Fiji walked away 35-28 winners.

Result:
Fiji 35-28 New Zealand

Third-place play-off:

South Africa cemented their place as No.3 on the IRB standings with a comprehensive four-tries-to-nil (28-0) win over a tired-looking England.

The Boks got away to an early lead, when Stephan Dippenaar sniped around a scrum for the opening try. But the Boks – with Kyle Brown and Cecil Afrika already injured – then lost another senior player when Paul Delport hobbled off. William Small-Smith made that a two-try lead after half-time hooter had already sounded.

A favourable bounce, from a clever kick ahead by Chris Dry, saw Cornal Hendricks get SA’s third try. And Branco du Preez finished it off with a fourth try in the last minute.

Result:
England 0-28 South Africa

Plate Final:

Samoa left it late to beat Argentina 12-10 in the final of the Plate to lift some silverware, with Taulagi Afamasaga scoring in referee’s optional time to secure the win.

Result:
Argentina 10-12 Samoa

Bowl Final:

Kenya came from 0-12 behind to beat the United States 14-12 in the Bowl Final, after they had earlier beaten France 29-0 in the semis and US had proved too strong for Scotland, winning 28-14.

Result:
United States 12-14 Kenya

Cup semifinals:

Fiji went 14-0 ahead in the second half and were able to hang on for a 14-7 win in a bruising encounter, despite Mat Turner giving England hope with his try three minutes from time.

New Zealand raced into a comfortable 12-0 lead with tries by Jack Wilson and Lolagi Visinia, before a Cornal Hendrick try gave the Boks hope. Then a Boom Prinsloo try left the teams tied at 12-all, but even with veteran DJ Forbes still in the bin Tim Mikkelson scored the winner for his country as the match ended with Tomasi Cama mockingly jogging towards his own line to run down the clock and secure the win.

Results:
Fiji 14-7 England
South Africa 12-19 New Zealand

Plate semifinals:

Argentina beat Australia 21-12 to reach the Plate final thanks to tries from Martin Chiappesoni, Agustin Migliore and Diego Palma.

They will face Samoa in the Final, after Paul Perez scored a hat-trick for the USA Sevens champions in a 34-7 victory against RWC Sevens champions Wales.

Results:
Argentina 21-12 Australia
Samoa 36-7 Wale

Bowl semifinals:

The United States will play Kenya in the Bowl Final – after they beat Scotland 28-14 and France 29-0 in their respective semifinals.

Results:
Scotland 14-28 United States
Kenya 29-0 France

Cup quarterfinals:

Fiji become the first side through to the Cup semi finals after beating Argentina 26-7 thanks to Metuisela Talebula’s fifth try in Hong Kong.

Dan Norton scored twice to book England’s place alongside the islanders.

Norton had scored in the first half to become the season’s leading try scorer, before running the length of the field to snatch a dramatic 19-14 victory against Australia.

USA Sevens champions Samoa lost to South Africa 27-14 in the third semi thanks to two tries from Cornal Hendricks.

Two tries from Ardie Savea put Gordon Tietjens’ New Zealand side through by beating Wales 31-7.

Results:
Fiji 26-7 Argentina
Australia 14-19 England
Samoa 14-27 South Africa
New Zealand 31-7 Wales

World Series core team qualifier

Sean Duke scored a hat-trick to help Canada win the Shield in the core team qualifier Final, recording a 22-5 victory against Spain.

Both teams had earlier claimed one of the three core team places on the 2012/13 HSBC Sevens World Series, and were joined by Portugal who beat Japan 33-19 in the qualifying play-off match after these two teams had lost their respective semi finals.

Tries from Conor Trainor and Taylor Paris, and Nathan Hiarayama’s crucial conversions, were enough to clinch a 14-12 win for Canada against Portugal, whilst Spain beat Japan in sudden death extra time, captain Pablo Feijoo scoring the winning try.

Earlier Spain had beaten Tonga 19-7 and Japan’s Lote Tuqiri snatched a dramatic sudden death extra time victory against hosts Hong Kong in the quarters.

In the other side of the draw Duke scored his 50th and 51st World Series tries as Canada beat Russia 24-7. Goncalo Foro’s two tries gave Portugal a dramatic 21-17 victory against Zimbabwe after the buzzer had sounded. 

Qualifier Final:

Result:
Spain 5-22 Canada

Qualifier third-place play-off:

Result:
Japan 19-33 Portugal

Qualifier semifinals:
Japan 12-17 Spain
Canada 14-12 Portugal   

Qualifier quarterfinals:
Portugal 21-17 Zimbabwe
Canada 24-7 Russia
Spain 19-7 Tonga
Hong Kong 5-10 Japan

Ranking Final:
Uruguay 31-0 Guyana

Ranking semifinals:
Uruguay 22-5 Philippines
China 5-7 Guyana