Fiji win third a successive title at the Hong Kong Sevens
Sunday 9 April 2017 19:22, UK
Defending champions Fiji clinched their third successive Hong Kong Sevens title after blowing away South Africa 22-0 in the final.
The victory was Fiji's first tournament victory on the World Series this year and was made even sweeter for their new coach Gareth Baber as it was enjoyed in the place he called home for a number of years.
The Olympic champions scored four tries in the final including a brace from Kalione Nasoko and the tournament victory means that they jump to second place in the World Series Rankings.
Head coach Baber admitted his side were extremely pleased to get a victory under their belts: "With the quality of players we have here, I'm very aware that we should be winning cups. I'm also aware that Ben [Ryan] did a great job and that we needed to keep the pressure on South Africa at the top of the table. I knew they could do it - it was just a matter of time before we could get it done."
South Africa must wait another year to try and claim their first sevens title in Hong Kong however the Blitzboks still top the table with 145 points while England are behind Fiji in third.
Live HSBC Sevens World Series
England's final day didn't go to plan as they lost 27-7 to the USA in the quarter-final and then lost the fifth-place semi-final against New Zealand.
Dan Norton said: "We're frustrated and disappointed because we know we can play a lot better than that and we weren't able to show how good we can actually be.
"Off the back of a successful tournament in Vancouver we were aiming to replicate that form but for all our own faults we didn't get there.
"We've got time now to re-group and reassess. Next week is an opportunity to do better for our country and there's still three tournaments left to play."
Scotland won the Challenge Trophy after beating Kenya 21-19. Two tries from James Flemming and one from Grayson Hart added to the boot of Scott Wright to hold off Kenya in a strong contest.
In the qualifying competition Spain secured their spot on next season's HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series after beating Germany 12-7 in the qualifier final.
With Bilbao chosen to host the 2018 Champions Cup, Challenge Cup and Continental Shield finals the profile of rugby looks set to grow in the country.
The core teams on this year's World Series will now travel to Singapore for the eighth round which starts next Saturday live on Sky Sports 3 at 1.50am.
