Source: Radio New Zealand
Fiji’s Douglas Daveta (R) scores a try against Australia’s Aden Ekanayake (L) during their 5th place play-off match. PETER PARKS
It wasn’t the results Fiji would have wanted in the first of three rounds of the Sevens World Championship held in Hong Kong.
The Fiji men’s team finished fifth, and the Fijiana sevens seventh.
The men’s team had a strong pool round, winning all three of their group-stage matches over Germany, Great Britain and France.
But they were outmatched at the quarterfinal stage by Argentina, beaten 24-17.
They went on to beat Australia, 26-10, in the fifth-place playoff.
On the women’s side, the Fijiana started with a loss to Japan before beating Brazil, but came up against the strong Black Ferns Sevens in their last pool game and were defeated 38-0.
Those results gave them a quarterfinal against Australia, but they were outclassed 45-5.
However, they finished on a high, beating Spain 31-12 in the seventh-place playoff.
The Black Ferns Sevens went on to defend their Hong Kong title with a 19-14 win over Australia in the final.
The All Blacks Sevens finished fourth after being beaten 32-28 by Spain in the third-place playoff.
South Africa won the men’s title.
The second round of the championship is in Spain at the end of May, with the third and final round in Bordeaux in early June.
The team with the most points at the end of the three-event championship competition will be crowned 2026 world champions.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
