BESIDES exiting Cup contention following pool match losses at the LA 7s, also known as the World Championship, the Fiji Airways Fiji men’s and Fijiana 7s teams lost and won their respective play-off matches yesterday.
Both teams met Great Britain in their respective matches and played to the end with varying points margins.
The men were beaten 19-31 in the seventh place play-off, with Joji Nasova, Terio Veilawa and Isikeli Basiyalo placing tries.
Great Britain maintained a distant lead at halftime with a 26-7 grip.
Nasova’s try was converted by Sakiusa Siqila while Veilawa converted his own.
Iliavi Nasova copped a yellow card in the match.
The opponent’s tries were made by Matt Davidson, Charlton Kerr, Harry Glover and Sunni Jardine with three conversions made by Freddie Roddick.
Their female counterparts won 46-14 in the fifth place play-off.
Scores at halftime stood at 29-7 with the Fijiana in the lead.
Tries for Fiji were scored by Silika Qalo, Vika Nakacia, Verenaisi Ditavutu, Sesenieli Donu and Mere Vocevoce.
Conversions made by Lavena Cavuru and Kelerayani Luvu were successful.
Great Britain’s two converted tries were made by Katie Shillaker and Heather Cowell with conversions kicked in by Abbie Brown and Emma Uren.
Yesterday also marked the end of the 2024/2025 season of the HSBC SVNS Series.
Fiji finished second in the series standings with 96 points accumulated from 20 in Dubai, 16 in Cape Town, 12 in Perth, 14 in both Vancouver and Hong Kong and 20 in Singapore.
The Fijiana finished seventh with 46 points made up of one in Dubai, three in Cape Town, four in Perth, 18 in Vancouver, 12 in Hong Kong and eight in Singapore.
Both teams’ placing in the top eight subsequently earned them spots in the LA 7s.
