Another stunner from fabulous Fiji at Hong Kong Sevens
Magical islanders add solid defence to customary flair to sweep aside New Zealand and chalk up 15th Cup victory
Toughened by a fire and brimstone passage into the final, Fiji were untouchable as they swept to a popular 33-19 victory over New Zealand at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday night.
The magical islanders showed plenty of their natural flair and combined with a solid defensive performance they extended their record Cup victories in Hong Kong to 15 before a sell-out crowd of nearly 40,000.
Flair has been liberally mixed with discipline under the tutelage of English coach Ben Ryan and this is proving a potent mix as opponents find it hard to break down the sevens giants, who moved to within two points of World Series leaders South Africa - 110 to 108 in the "Race to Rio".
"It was close at times. I have been here nine times [seven of them with England] and been in a final before. But this was the first time I have experienced a Cup win," Ryan said.
Fiji had been hardened mentally by the challenges presented by England in an ill-tempered quarter-final, winning 17-12. They then staved off a second-half comeback to defeat South Africa 21-15 and reach the Cup final a battle-hardened unit.
The outcome was decided in the first half when Fiji ran in three unanswered tries to lead 21-0. Savenaca Rawaca scored a brace, sandwiching a try by Jerry Tuwai.
New Zealand, who had to rely on a penalty kick to pip Samoa 15-14 in the semi-final, fought back through tries either side of half-time from youngster Beaudine Waaka and Scott Curry.
"New Zealand are an excellent side, but we defended intelligently and didn't allow them the space they wanted," Ryan said. "We didn't jump in and make any naive defensive errors, and when we do that and allow our attack to do what they do then we have the makings of a good side."
Make that better than good.
"We were beaten by a very good Fiji side," conceded New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens, whose brow seemed more furrowed than usual.
"They played superbly and we gave them too much of a lead," said Tietjens. "The key to competing against a team like Fiji is you have to start well. Conceding three tries, you are chasing the game. A couple of length-of-the-field tries killed us."
The victory is significant for it keeps alive a 14-match winning streak, thus building an aura of invincibility around Fiji.
South Africa, who beat Samoa in the play-off for third, still lead the World Series standings with 110 points. Fiji are second on 108 and New Zealand third on 107.
"There were times today when I thought it was going to happen again [losing] in the quarter-finals and semis when we were hanging on to dear life, but our defence got us through," Ryan said,
"We are on a 14-game winning streak, we have beaten New Zealand five games in a row, and building a run against them. We are three-in-a-row against South Africa and we have played six tournaments and lost four games. But we can't sit back on our laurels. Tokyo is next."