Wrap Up – Sydney 7s

Fiji Airways Fijian 7s finished on the podium for the first time since the opening tournament in Hong Kong with an emphatic 29-5 win over France.

Thomas Carol had given France an early lead but the setback was only temporary as Fiji quickly got into the groove to score three tries in as many minutes.

Having been denied a try earlier in the match after the referee spotted a forward pass, Iowane Teba raced over for a quickfire double, Jerry Tuwai with an assist on both occasions.

After that Viwa Naduvalo scored straight from the kick-off and Fiji went into half-time with a 17-5 half-time advantage.

A powerful run and step from Manueli Maisamoa saw Fiji pull further ahead before Alasio Naduva rounded off the match with a try that showed Fiji at their brilliant best.

Taking France by surprise with a quickly-taken lineout, Fiji got the ball in the hands of Josevani Drava who pulled off a no-look over-the-shoulder offload to leave Naduva with an easy run in.

Fiji Airways Fijian 7s Coach Ben Gollings said it was good to see the team coming out strong after losing to South Africa in the semifinal.

Gollings said “It was a tough game to sallow against South Africa. We didn’t help ourselves by controlling the ball and then a few decisions didn’t go our way and we really couldn’t gain the momentum.”

He added “Its a huge learning curve for some of these players on how they control this types of games.”

Gollings further added “Great though that we bounced back and quick turn round plus finished with a bronze. It’s been a big two weeks but we bounced back and we are on our way up now.

Meanwhile the Fiji Airways Fijiana finished 6^th going down to host Australia 36-12.

Reapi Ulunisau finished on top of the DHL Impact Player while Manueli Maisamoa was first on the men’s DHL Impact player.

The Fiji Airways Fijian 7s has moved to fifth on the ladder while the Fiji Airways Fijiana is placed in sixth place.