By Gary Anderson

Fiji secured the Oceania Sevens title with a win over New Zealand in Noosa ©AFP/Getty ImagesFiji claimed their first Oceania Sevens title in Noosa after an impressive 21-5 win over pre-tournament favourites New Zealand, while there was better news for the All Blacks' women who prevailed against big rivals Australia in their final clash.

After keeping a clean sheet in all three pool matches yesterday, the Fijians conceded their first points of the tournament against Tonga but still emerged 49-7 victors in their quarter-final match, before going on to beat reigning champions Samoa 24-12 in the semi-final.

New Zealand began the day with a comprehensive 54-0 win over Papua New Guinea to set up a semi-final clash with old rivals Australia.

The All Blacks looked to be heading for an early exit as they trailed the Aussies 14-0, before mounting a superb comeback to seal a place in the decider with a 19-14 win.

The roles were reversed in the final as New Zealand started the brighter to cross the line first, but converted tries from Vatemo Ravouvou and Niko Verekauta put the Fijians firmly in control in the second half and with their defence working well they saw out the game and took the win.

"We worked very hard this week to ensure we were ready and coach Ben Ryan has done a good job with the boys," said Fiji captain Nasami Roko.

"We knew New Zealand would be very physical and they are always hard to beat.

"Luckily we have some good talent and in Niko [Verekauta ] we have some very fast speed out wide."

Fiji coach Ben Ryan has seen his side claim their first Oceania Sevens crown with victory over the All Blacks ©Getty ImagesFiji coach Ben Ryan has seen his side claim their first Oceania Sevens crown with victory over the All Blacks ©Getty Images



A tired looking Australia went down 33-7 to Samoa in the third-place playoff much to the disappointment of the home fans in Queensland.

For Tonga and Papua New Guinea there was some consolation at not progressing to the Cup semi-finals.

Papua New Guinea beat Tonga 26-17 to finish fifth and therefore qualify as the best placed non-core Sevens World Series team for the Wellington and Hong Kong Sevens tournaments in 2015.

Tonga, despite the defeat, secured qualification for Hong Kong.

"It's very good as we did not expect this as we have many new players in our team, but they stepped up and replaced the missing experienced boys who were not here," said Papua New Guinea captain Hubert Tseraha.

"Playing in Hong Kong and Wellington is something we had not really thought about until today.

"It will be a big step up but for rugby in Papua New Guinea [and] this is a really big boost."

New Zealand vice-captain Tyla Nathan-Wong helped her side to a comprehensive win over Australia at the Oceania Sevens ©Getty ImagesNew Zealand vice-captain Tyla Nathan-Wong helped her side to a comprehensive win over Australia at the Oceania Sevens ©Getty Images



As expected, New Zealand and Australia contested the women's final.

The All Blacks topped the women's pool standings with six wins from six, while Australia's only defeat came against the New Zealanders in yesterday's round-robin stage.

But the Kiwis showed why they are the reigning Women's Sevens World Series and Rugby Sevens World Cup champions, as they turned on the style against the women in gold and green. 

A 21-5 halftime lead was turned into a 31-10 victory as the Australians could not match the power and pace of the All Blacks.

"It was awesome, we dug really deep over the two days," said New Zealand vice-captain Tyla Nathan-Wong.

"We gelled really well and played for each other and the squad members at home.

"It came down to belief and hard work and we worked them hard in the middle and then hit the ball wide which worked well."

For the men, attention now turns to the opening round of the Sevens World Series in Gold Coast next weekend (October 11 and 12), while the Women's Sevens World Series kicks off in Dubai in December.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
October 2014: 
Big three dominate on day one of Oceania Sevens in Noosa