Fiji win fourth consecutive title in Hong Kong

Fiji secured their fourth consecutive title at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens after they beat Kenya 24-12 in the final.

In a repeat of last month’s final in Vancouver, Fiji ran in four tries to move within just three points of series leaders South Africa in the overall standings and take their third tournament win of the 2018 world series.

Two yellow cards in the first half for Kenya’s Collins Injera and Willy Ambaka allowed the Pacific islanders to take a 17-0 lead at half-time. Despite tries from Kenya’s Billy Odhiambo and Oscar Ouma in the second half, Fiji were uncatchable and cemented their reputation in Hong Kong as the team to beat.

2?8?Finals.
1?8?Wins.

The greatest of all time. ??#HK7s pic.twitter.com/v5BQIkTN5C

— HSBC Sport (@HSBC_Sport) April 8, 2018

“I’d like to thank my boys for the team effort and thank the Kenyan team for a good game,” said Fiji captain Jerry Tuwai. “Hong Kong is always special for us, we respect and honour the tradition that Fiji has with the Hong Kong Sevens.”

South Africa claimed the bronze medal after beating New Zealand 29-7 while Argentina beat USA 14-12 to secure fifth. The Challenge Trophy winners were France, beating Canada 33-7.

With Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 just over 100 days away, the seedings for the tournament will be confirmed on Wednesday as excitement builds for the competition in San Francisco on July 20-22.

The world series will head to Singapore on April 28/29 after stopping by the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast next weekend.

Elsewhere Japan have been promoted to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019 after beating Germany in the annual world series qualifier in Hong Kong.

After two days of pulsating action, head coach Damian Karauna’s side finished up 19-14 winners against a powerful German outfit, who have suffered their second qualifier final defeat in as many years.

The victory in front of a packed Hong Kong Stadium means Japan will become one of the 15 core teams contesting the 10-round world series, beginning next December.

“I think that it’s great for us,” said Karauna. “We’ve worked really hard to get back and we’ve just got to get that consistency now and keep up with the world series teams. It means a lot and we’ve had a lot of support here which has been great for us.”

In the final, Japan crossed first before Germany took a 5-14 lead into the break after tries from Johnathon Dawe and Bastian Himmer. With less than 15 seconds left, Karauna’s team trailed 12-14 but managed to snatch the match-winner through Masahiro Nakano.

Before joining the series Japan will contest the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco on July 20-22 as one of the two Asian qualifiers.