Fiji sevens lives up to their word

Submitted by TemoL on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 05:27

Coach Iliesa Tanivula said he was a content man but he was aware they had won a battle, not the war.

"There is still a lot of hard work to be done over the next few months but we're going in the right direction."

Strong, powerful running, superb support play, flashing moments of brilliance and bruising defence laid the platform for the teams cup win.

Up 19-7, Fiji looked very much in control midway through the second half, but Samoa hit back through one of their standout players, Mikaele Pesamino, then peppered Fiji's line in the dying stages.

"There was a lot of hard work done by the players in camp during the festive season," Tanivula said.

"The hard work paid off and the two days were awesome."

Asked why they had performed so well in Wellington, Tanivula said: "The man upstairs. There's good belief in the team, and we stuck to the gameplan."

He was reluctant to single out individuals but Osea Kolinisau, the man who scored the match-winning try with a wonderful chip-and-chase after a William Ryder backflick, won plenty of fans.

"We played as a team," Tanivula said. "There was a lot of chat and energy out there, the whole squad put their hand up and really had a go for it."

It was Fiji's third Wellington sevens title but the first since 2006. They also won in 2000.

"Of course we like Wellington, it's closer to home and with the crowd support as well, it's just been great," Tanivula said. "The boys really had it going and it was good to finish on top."

The win took Fiji to 60 points in the overall standings, four behind New Zealand.

"That was the aim for this tournament, to close the gap with New Zealand. It was good for us that New Zealand lost in the semis but the Samoans are always up there, they're always physical, so we knew the final was going to be difficult.

"Now we can look forward to Las Vegas. It's a quick turnaround so not too much celebration. Hopefully next week we'll celebrate."