Fiji held off a desperate Samoan finish to claim a 19-14 victory in the all-Polynesian final of the New Zealand round of the IRB Sevens World Series yesterday.
It was a throwback to Fiji’s former glory days as they showcased their full artillery of sevens weaponry to counter the strong Samoans, with overhead and no-look passes as well as scooping the ball off the ground one-handed.
The win lifted Fiji to within four points of the series leaders New Zealand, who won the first two rounds in Dubai and George, South Africa, before falling to Samoa in the semi-finals yesterday.
Samoa have moved up to third place ahead of England, who were beaten by Fiji in the semi-finals, with Australia fifth.
The final was locked at 7-7 at halftime after Jiuta Lutumailagi put Fiji in front in the opening minute and Mikaele Pesamino replied for Samoa with a clever kick-and-chase move midway through the half.
Samoa, without veteran playmaker and captain Lolo Lui, who was suspended following a dangerous tackle in the semi-final against New Zealand, appeared to lose their way against the Fijian artistry for most of the second half.
Tries by Emosi Vucago and Osea Kolinisau saw Fiji race to a 19-7 lead, before the Samoans regrouped with a minute to go and fought back with a second try to Pesamino and they were pressing the Fiji line again when the final hooter sounded.
New Zealand, who proved unbeatable in the first two tournaments, came to a shuddering halt in their home tournament semi-finals when they were unable to master the power and speed of Samoa.
The Samoans, who were rarely stretched in pool play on Friday, struggled to a 14-12 victory over Kenya in the quarter-finals and trailed New Zealand 5-7 before their passing clicked and they raced to a dominant 24-14 victory.
Fiji were the form side from the start.
They backed up their impressive unbeaten run through pool play with a 21-5 win over South Africa in the quarter-finals, before disposing of England, tournament winners in Wellington last year, 28-19 in the semis.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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