Fiji sealed a third Gold Coast rugby sevens title
Sunday 12 October 2014 15:17, UK
Fiji sealed a third Gold Coast rugby sevens title with a thrilling 31-24 final win against Pacific rivals Samoa.
Jasa Veremalua scored a dramatic winning try seconds from time after they had seen a 26-0 lead pegged back in the second half.
Setefano Cakau scored twice early on for Fiji before the Samoans piled on 24 unanswered points to trail by two into the final minute, but Veremalua's strong run sealed a the next step in their pursuit of Olympic gold in the future.
His dive over in the corner ensured Fiji lead the IRB World Sevens series after the first of nine events, with qualification to the 2016 Rio Games the prize for the top four-ranked countries. Fiji have never won an Olympic medal but could end up being among the favourites.
The Fijians did not lose a game all weekend on the Gold Coast, beating Australia 35-12 on Saturday before demolishing Wales (31-10) and England (48-7) prior to Samoa.
England, who stunned world champions New Zealand 31-7 in the quarter-finals, finished third with a 19-0 victory over South Africa.
New Zealand recovered from their quarter-final shock to win the consolation plate and fifth place in the tournament with a 36-21 win over Argentina.
It was the first time New Zealand have failed to make the final at the Gold Coast event since its inception three years ago and their worst at an IRB sevens tournament since they finished fifth in Dubai in 2011.
Australia finished seventh with Wales after they suffered back-to-back defeats on Sunday losing to South Africa and then Argentina in the plate semi-final. South Africa will rue a missed opportunity, finishing fourth.
