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All Blacks 7s stun Fiji in final minute to claim LA title

August 29, 2022

The All Blacks Sevens have won a thrilling final over Fiji at the Los Angeles Sevens Series on Monday afternoon.

After pulling off an impressive comeback win over Samoa earlier on Monday morning, the All Blacks Sevens again started slow as Fiji jumped out to an early lead.

Kaminieli Rasaku finished off an impressive early try as multiple New Zealand defenders fell off tackles.

However, the Kiwis struck back soon after with an attack down the left wing, leaving Tone Ng Shiu sprinting for the corner to score.

Shiu was contested near the line though in a bizarre incident with Waisea Nacuqu bundling Shiu into touch with a blatant shoulder charge and no arms in the tackle.

As a result, Nacuqu was yellow carded and the All Blacks Sevens were awarded a penalty try, leaving the game tied 7-7 but Fiji down a man for the next two minutes.

The Fijians were composed though, retaining possession for a majority of that period to deny New Zealand any attacking opportunities with the extra man in hand.

Regan Ware was eventually able to strike though although a response from the recently-returned Nacuqu after the halftime hooter saw the sides tied 14-14 at the break.

Ngarohi McGarvey-Black runs at the Los Angeles Sevens.

The second half started much more positively for the men in black with a cross kick to Moses Leo allowing him to draw in four defenders on the left wing before popping up an easy offload to Shiu to waltz the rest of the way to score his second and hand New Zealand a 21-14 lead.

Fiji again stayed patient and composed, eventually finding a break down the left wing that while it didn't result in a try initially, saw Sione Molia yellow-carded as he scrambled back to defend.

The Fijians struck off the ensuing penalty though, again tying the score with just under three minutes to go but Molia still on the sideline for another minute.

Filipe Sauturaga's try was the only one Fiji could collect during the power play though. Molia returned for the final two minutes as the All Blacks Sevens set a scrum on halfway from a penalty.

Another penalty, this time near the Fijian 22, gave the All Blacks Sevens the perfect platform to score a potential game-winning try with just over 80 seconds left in the contest.

A superb skip pass to Leo saw the strong runner dart in to score, although New Zealand fans had to hold their breath as the TMO checked whether his foot was over the dead ball line as he went to score.

A knock on from Fiji off the restart sealed the match 28-21, allowing Kurt Baker to win a series in his 50th tournament.

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