With their place in the Games yet to be assured, the Fijian team showed just how deadly they can be as they ran out 33-26 victors against a strong South African outfit to secure their second Cup win of the season.

"It is good to get on the podium again and the boys played really well today," said Ben Ryan, Fiji sevens coach.

"When they want to turn it on they are not an impossible team to stop but they are pretty hard to beat.

"We're working hard, it's not been plain sailing but you can see what happens when you get the boys together."

Fiji recorded their second Cup win of the season as they await confirmation of their place at Glasgow 2014 ©IRB



Despite the loss, defending champions South Africa move to the head of the World Series standings, two points clear of New Zealand after the All Blacks' loss to England in the third-place play off.

Fiji's Tokyo Sevens win cemented their third place in the standings, with England a further 10 points behind in fourth.

The United States finished their most successful leg of the Series with a loss at the hands of Australia in the Plate final.

The win seals the second successive Plate victory for the Australians who fall further behind the leading pack in the World standings.

A hat-trick of tries for Iolo Evans assured silverware for Wales as they beat Scotland 28-21 in the final of the Bowl.

A disappointing weekend at Tokyo's Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground was made even worse for Samoa as they were beaten 26-0 in the Shield final by an equally disappointing Argentina.

It was only the third time Samoa have competed in the Shield in the history of the World Series and both sides will want to forget this weekend ahead of the Hong Kong Sevens next week.

The Japanese team bow to their home crowd after recording their biggest ever victory over a core team in the World Series with a 42-12 win against Samoa ©IRB



After starting the day with a historic 42-12 win over Samoa in the Bowl quarter-final - their first victory against the Pacific islanders in 16 encounters - Japan were narrowly beaten by Wales in the semi-finals.

Despite the loss, the hosts still recorded their best result of the 2013-2014 World Series, giving them a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Series core team qualifier in Hong Kong next weekend.

Next weekend sees the teams travel to Hong Kong for the seventh leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Running alongside the main tournament will be a core team qualifier competition which sees 12 teams, two from each of the International Rugby Union region's, vying for a core spot in next season's World Series.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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