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Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018
RugbyHK Sevens

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018: Fiji crash out in San Francisco; New Zealand to play England in Cup final

The dream is over for Gareth Baber’s men after they went down to the All Blacks Sevens at AT&T Park

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Amenoni Nasilasila streaks away for Fiji. Photo: EPA
Sam Agars

A star-studded Fiji side was bundled out of the Rugby World Cup Sevens by a determined New Zealand outfit on Monday morning, with Gareth Baber’s men falling 22-17 in a cracking contest.

It caps a year of disappointment for Fiji, who lost in the final of the Commonwealth Games – also to the All Blacks Sevens – and were pipped by South Africa in the HSBC Sevens World Series despite holding a healthy lead heading into the final round.

New Zealand opened the scoring through a try through Joe Ravouvou and Fiji were on the board soon after when Semi Radradra bulldozed his way to the line to give his side a 7-5 lead.

A well-worked Dylan Collier try put the All Blacks Sevens back in front and it was clear that a team that have been below their best in the past couple of years were well and truly up for the fight.

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Fiji hit back through Amenoni Nasilasila, who ran on to his own kick in the in-goal area and turned for the posts in a bid for an easier conversion attempt, appearing to touch the dead-ball line with his foot in the process. However, the television match official awarded the try to give Fiji a 12-10 half-time lead.

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It mattered little though, with Regan Ware and Ravouvou finding the line after the break to give New Zealand an unassailable 22-12 lead before Alosio Naduva crossed for a consolation try for Fiji.

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