Fiji strike gold in Las Vegas

Fiji came from 15-0 behind at half-time to successfully defend their HSBC USA Sevens Cup title in sensational fashion, beating Australia 21-15 in round five of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Having not won since the opening tournament in Dubai, two tries from Kitione Taliga and one from Savenaca Rawaca plus three crucial conversions from Vatemo Ravouvou proved the difference in front of 25,981 on a windy day in Las Vegas with the players dedicating the win to those back home.

“One week after Cyclone Winston struck we went back into camp and all the players said we were going to play here in Vegas,” said captain Osea Kolinisau.

“I reminded the boys this week that we needed to remember the people back home who were victims of Cyclone Winston and that we needed to give them something to be happy about after all the devastation. To come up against Australia like that was tough, but we said 10 minutes is a long time and all we needed to do was to get back the ball to have a chance to win.”

In a pulsating final Sam Myers begun proceedings before captain Ed Jenkins and Cameron Clark took their lead to 15-0 at half-time, but three missed conversions proved costly for the Australians who finished runners-up for a second successive tournament. 

Fiji’s win gives them a five point lead at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings ahead of South Africa (86) and New Zealand (82) at the halfway stage of the 2015-16 series with Australia in fourth. Hosts USA finished fourth in Las Vegas after losing to South Africa in the third place play-off and sit fifth in the overall standings.