Fiji and Australia on top of the Sevens World

The Fiji men’s side and Australian women were on top of the world on Sunday night as they triumphed in their respective Sevens World Cup finals, both over New Zealand, at a rocking Cape Town Stadium.

Fiji were in top form to claim a superb 29-12 win thanks to a brilliant first half performance, while the Australian women just edged a thrilling final 24-22 to clinch the world title.

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In the men’s final Fiji came absolutely flying out the blocks as Joseva Talacolo sprinted home for a try within 30 seconds, converted by Waisea Nacuqu, and Kaminieli Rasaku seized on turn over ball to run away and score as they took a 12-0 lead after just two minutes.

Moses Leo then responded for New Zealand, diving over in the corner for an unconverted score, only for Fiji to add two quick tries before the break to Elia Canakaivata and Filipe Sauturaga, with Nacuqu slotting one conversion to give them a big 24-5 lead at the break.

 New Zealand then got off to the perfect start in the second half with an early try Akuila Rokolisoa, converted by Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, while a yellow card to Fiji’s Talacolo for a high tackle while the try was being scored, gave New Zealand even more hope.

Fiji managed to keep New Zealand scoreless for the two minutes, but as Talacolo came back on, Sevuloni Mocenacagi was yellow carded for sealing off at a ruck, reducing them to six players again.

New Zealand however couldn’t make the extra man count again, while they received a yellow to Rokolisoa for a high tackle, making it six-a-side for a spell.

The final few minutes of the match then got a bit scrappy, with mistakes from both teams, but it was then Fiji who finished with a flourish as Pilipo Bukayaro scored on the full time hooter to seal a superb win.

Women’s final

The Australian women’s team managed to just outlast a spirited performance from the New Zealand women that went right down to the wire as the game ended three minutes into overtime.

The New Zealand women got off to a strong start, with Kelly Brazier giving them a 5-0 lead, only for Maddison Levi to hit back for the Aussie women to draw the scores level after five minutes.

A frantic end to the half then saw Levi nip in for her second try, converted by Sharni Williams, while Stacey Fluhler dotted down on the halftime break to make it 12-10 at the break in favour of the Aussies.

The Aussie women then kicked it up a notch at the start of the second half as Faith Nathan ran in an unconverted score, followed by Levi getting her hattrick, with Williams extras putting them 24-10 ahead with just a few minutes remaining.

New Zealand women just wouldn’t go away however, as Shiray Kaka scored a converted try, followed by Alena Saili scoring with time up, but it was heartbreak for them as Tenika Willison’s missed conversion meant they wouldn’t be able to take the match to extra time.