KEY POINTS:
New Zealand kicked off their bid for an eighth international sevens rugby series title in nine years by winning the first tournament of the 2007-08 season in Dubai yesterday.
They beat arch-rivals Fiji, the only other nation to win the series, 31-21 in the final but not before being in danger of losing the decider from a 26-0 lead.
Fiji's early woes were compounded by a yellow-card in each half though they came back with three tries.
New Zealand seized control with a fine first half, but then had to withstand an incredible fight-back from the islanders to win the tournament for the first time since 2002.
Leading 21-0 at the break after tries by Zar Lawrence (two) and Nigel Hunt, Gordon Tietjens' men stretched that advantage to 26-0 when Steven Yates crossed after Neumi Nanuku became the second Fijian player to be sinbinned in the final.
Fiji threw caution to the winds, attacking from everywhere and were rewarded when Nanuku, Vereniki Goneva and Akuila Nawerecagi touched down to cut the deficit to five with just over a minute remaining.
However there was to be no fairytale fourth try for Fiji, that instead going to New Zealand when Yates rounded off a move in which they appeared to have knocked on, clinching a 31-21 victory.
The win is New Zealand's second consecutive IRB Sevens Cup title after their crowning glory last season.
They had won the series six times in a row before Fiji took it two seasons ago and came back last season to make it No 7.
New Zealand skipper DJ Forbes said Fiji's fightback had him worried.
"You can never write anyone off in sevens. But we knuckled down and stuck to our guns. They were very hard to contain but we showed a lot of character and dug deep."
Coach Tietjens said he was pleased with the way New Zealand responded to the two yellow cards for their first win in Dubai since 2003.
"We used our heads to score quick tries after the sinbinnings," he said. "But in the second half we fell off tackles and almost paid the penalty."
The New Zealand team now travel to South Africa for the second tournament of the season next weekend.
Two tries from Tomasi Cama saw them recover from Renfred Dazel's opening try to lead South Africa 12-7 at halftime in their semifinal.
South Africa, who were missing the injured Mzwandile Stick, beat New Zealand in last year's final.
The second semifinal was equally dramatic with Tom Guest among the scorers as England fought back to trail Fiji by a single point - 22-21 - with little time remaining.
The young England team thought they had it in the bag when they went over the line, but the ball was ruled held up.
Fiji had earlier ended Scotland's Cup challenge with a 28-5 win, just as convincing as New Zealand's 40-7 victory over Argentina. South Africa endured a scare, their 17-0 halftime lead evaporating to just a two-point advantage as the fast-finishing Kenyans scored three second-half tries.
- NZPA
