Savenaca Rawaca was the star performer for the Fijian team as he bagged two tries to ensure he finished the tournament as joint top-scorer with Zack Test of the United States, while his side's victory also gave coach Ben Ryan his first ever triumph in Hong Kong.

South Africa recovered from their semi-final defeat at the hands of Fiji to take third place, which ensured they remained top of the overall World Sevens Series titles with three events of the nine-leg series remaining.

Fiji's superb success saw them overtake New Zealand and move into second place and they now trail the Blitzboks by just two points.

"This victory is certainly up there," Ryan said.

"Outstanding performance by the team, they controlled the game really well tactically.

"Our bench were magnificent.

"We've spent a lot of time on defence and it's starting to pay dividends."

Elsewhere, Russia sealed a place on the 2015-2016 roster as they won the qualification tournament by virtue of a dramatic victory over Zimbabwe, in whichVladimir Ostroushko scored a last-gasp try to give his side a 22-19 win.

Russia secured a place in the 2015-2016 World Series thanks to Vladimir Ostroushko's last gasp try ©World Rugby



In the main competition, Fiji started the day with a tough test against a stern English outfit before they eventually progressed to the last eight thanks to a narrow 14-12 success.

New Zealand also had to negotiate a tricky quarter-final as they beat Argentina 31-21, while South Africa reached the semi-finals with a low-scoring 7-5 win over Australia.

In the other quarter-final, Samoa ran in four tries in a dominant 26-15 triumph against the US, who then went on to lose to Australia in the Plate final.

That left two intriguing match-ups and Fiji proved too strong for overall leaders South Africa as they booked their place in the 40th Hong Kong Sevens series final with a tight 21-15.

New Zealand, who still remain in pole position to claim the World Rugby Sevens Series crown, were pushed all the way by a dogged Samoa side before the All Blacks secured a meeting with Fiji by virtue of a slender 15-14 victory.

But they fell short when it mattered as Fiji romped to a commanding win to set up a tense finale in the race for the overall crown.

The seventh World Sevens Series event of the season takes place in the Japanese capital of Tokyo on April 4 and 5.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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