Fiji is the silver medal winner on day three of the Cathay/ HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at Hong Kong Stadium on 2 April, 2023 in Hong Kong, China. Photo: World Rugby / Mike Lee - KLC
The Fijian Sevens team were beaten 24-17 by the All Blacks Sevens in the men's final of the 2023 Hong Kong Sevens in So Ko Po in the early hours of Monday morning.
The result sees coach Ben Gollings without a win single tournament win after eight rounds of competition.
New Zealand now leads the men's competition with 142 points, Argentina is second with 121, and Fiji sits third with 113 points.
Reaching the final meant the Olympics champions climbed a point ahead of France (112) pushing them to fourth place.
How it happend
Fiji lost the plot in the first half and let in two soft tries.
While the side came back strongly in the second spell, it was a case of 'too little, too late' as the All Blacks hung on to claim their first Hong Kong scalp since 2014.
The finale of the three-day rugby showcase saw New Zealand dominate the first seven minutes and led 24-7 with tries from young Cody Vai, Sione Molia, Leroy Carter and Mcgarvey-Black.
Winger Vuiviawa Naduvalo claimed one for Fiji as the Blacks led 24-7 at the breather.
Fiji fought back in the second half with Joseva Talacolo scoring two tries.
But that was not enough as Kiwi's hung on to win.
Route to semis
In the semifinals, New Zealand made it eight straight wins against France.
But the eventual winners had to work hard for the 12-7 victory that saw them through to their first Hong Kong final since 2016.
Earlier, All Blacks Sevens beat Argentina 24-10 to book their place in the last four against France, who had twice come from behind against Spain to win 19-14 in extra-time.
Fiji and Great Britain could not be separated in regulation time despite a frenetic end-to-end conclusion.
And the chaos did not end there - Terio Tamani's match-winning extra-time touchdown had to go to the TMO after his celebration touchdown dive nearly took him out of the in-goal area.
It was the second tight match in a row for the Pacific islanders after they came from behind to beat South Africa 10-7 in a tense third quarter-final.
Great Britain, meanwhile, bagged the last available semi-final slot with a 21-10 win over USA.
Samoa lose ninth place
The other Pasifika team in the competition, Samoa, missed a conversion after the gong and lost the chance to take the ninth-place play-off against Ireland into extra-time.
Paul Scanlan's superb touchdown with the clock in the red was the final score as the Irish claimed a 19-17 win.
Samoa's route to the play-off included a 15-12 win over defending Hong Kong champions Australia, thanks to two Vaa Apelu Maliko tries, and a four-score 26-12 victory over Kenya.
Fiji's Meredani Qoro scores a try against Brazil on day one of the Cathay/ HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at Hong Kong Stadium on 31 March, 2023 in Hong Kong. Photo: World Rugby / Mike Lee - KLC
Great Britain women down Fijiana for bronze
The only Pasifika women's team in the tournament, the Fijiana Sevens, could not hold on to their two-point lead as they went down to Great Britain 19-22 in the Bronze final.
With second to go at the end of the play-off and leading 19-17 Fijiana were beaten to the corner by replacement Isla Norman-Bell who sprinted to the try-line for the winning try as Great Britain took out Bronze with a 22-19 final scoreline.
New Zealand also claimed the women's title after they defeated Australia 26-17 in their final clash.
The men's competition now moves to Singapore this weekend while the women's competition takes a break until Toulouse in France on May 12-14.
