Rugby sevens: Fiji triumph in nail-biter

The fans getting into the atmosphere at Westpac Stadium. Marty Melville / Getty Images

WELLINGTON - Inspired by hat-trick hero William Ryder, Fiji won the International Rugby Board (IRB) sevens title here tonight by beating South Africa 27-22 in a final that went into extra time at Westpac Stadium.

Fiji picked up their third Wellington title in typically flamboyant style, scoring five tries to four in a thrilling final, most of them of breathtaking quality.

Ryder grabbed their first two with scorching breaks down the right flank, the second also outlining his power as he stayed in the field of play despite being wrestled towards the touchline by South African Stefan Basson.

Their third just before halftime was created by Ryder, who stepped two defenders and threw a beguiling pass to send Epeli Dranivasa clear 60m out.

South African captain Fabian Juries added to his prolific tournament with a first-half try but his side struggled to make any dent on Fiji's 17-5 halftime lead until Juries crossed for his second with four minutes remaining.

Any sniff of a fightback appeared spoiled by the brilliant Ryder, who stepped inside from a worked overlap and did a little jig before planting the ball in delight for his third try.

South Africa's fightback was launched late when Phillip Burger crossed with 90 seconds remaining.

With the hooter sounding, a Fijian clearing kick failed to find touch and the South Africans showed patience to hold the ball and eventually put Gio Aplan over.

Basson had a chance to win the final but his conversion attempt from a widish angle sliced across the goalposts.

Victory was finally secured when Neumi Nanuku broke from 60m and dived over in tackle in the corner.

Fiji's third title in Wellington -- they won the first two played here -- will see them extend their lead at the top of the 2005/06 IRB sevens table after three of the eight tournaments.

Earlier, Fiji beat New Zealand 26-14 in their semifinal while South Africa downed France 28-5.

England beat Argentina 14-10 to win the Plate final while the Bowl went to Scotland after they beat Canada 10-5 in extra time.

Fijian player/coach Waisale Serevi was delighted with how his team kept their cool after squandering a big lead.

"We made a lot of mistakes, especially when we had the points up. The boys tended to relax and then South Africa came back," he said.

"I told them everything's all right, take it easy, we have to keep the ball as long as we can."

Serevi injected himself into the game with just two minutes remaining in normal time. Prior to that he looked on in wonder at how Ryder was performing.

"I gave him the final, it was the first time for him to start in a final. He was wanting to play and I was keeping him on the bench (previously) as an impact player.

"Today I wanted to give him more game time and I thought he handled it well. There's a lot of good rugby times ahead of him."

Serevi said his team would take confidence into next week's tournament in Los Angeles but said winning was not a given.

"The tournaments are getting tougher and tougher. There are 6-7 teams who can win, you don't automatically win next week."

Arguably the greatest sevens player of all time, Serevi would not reveal whether this was his last visit to Wellington.

"Time will tell. We'll see next year," he said.

IRB RUGBY SEVENS - COLLATED RESULTS

Cup

Quarterfinals: France 19 England 14, South Africa 17 Samoa 12, New Zealand 26 (Lote Raikabula 2, Zar Lawrence, Cory Jane tries; Amasio Valence 3 con) Argentina 12 (Francisco Bosch, Pablo Gomez Cora tries; Nicolas Bruzzone con), Fiji 21 Australia 14.

Semifinals: South Africa 28 (Fabian Juries 2, Ryan Kantowski, Mzwandile Stick tries; Stefan Basson 4 con) France 5 (Jerome Naves try), Fiji 26 (Neumi Nanuku 2, Jone Daunivucu, Epeli Dranivasa tries; Waisale Serevi 3 con) New Zealand 14 (Lote Raikabula, Nigel Hunt tries; Amasio Valence 2 con).

Final: Fiji 27 (William Ryder 3, Epeli Dranivasa, Neumi Nanuku tries; Jone Daunivucu con) South Africa 22 (Fabian Juries 2, Phillip Burger, Gio Aplan tries; Stefan Basson con) in extra time. Fulltime: 22-22.

Plate

Semifinals: England 21 Samoa 17, Argentina 21 Australia 10.

Final: England 14 Argentina 10.

Bowl

Quarterfinals: Scotland 14 Niue 12, Kenya 15 Tonga 14, Cook Islands 43 United States 5, Canada 33 Papua New Guinea 10.

Semifinals: Scotland 61 Kenya 0, Canada 33 Cook Islands 10.

Final: Scotland 10 Canada 5 (extra time).

Shield

Semifinals: Tonga 21 Niue 14, Papua New Guinea 15 United States 12.

Final: Tonga 19 Papua New Guinea 14.

- NZPA