Australia women win the Dubai Sevens again and Fiji men end their title drought
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A 90-meter intercept try by women's sevens player of the year Maddison Levi clinched Australia's fifth successive Dubai title against archrival New Zealand in the final on Sunday.
Australia won 28-24 despite conceding four tries. It reached the final allowing only two.
Meanwhile, Fiji's men ended a 21-tournament, 2 1/2-year title drought by beating surprise finalist Spain 19-5.
Australia and New Zealand have been the women's sevens benchmark for years. Only they have won the Olympics, World Cups or world series. Only they have won the Dubai Sevens, also, in the world series and their third straight final in the desert was another classic.
Tries by Faith Nathan and Teagan Levi shot Australia to 14-0. New Zealand fought back with tries by Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane to trail 14-12.
Right on halftime, new Australia captain Bella Nasser's show and go unleashed her from inside her half to score, and they led 21-12.
New Zealand came back fast and physical with tries by Theresa Setefano and Manaia Nuku to move ahead 24-22.
They went for the decisive blow with two minutes to go but Levi, who had been shackled all game, intercepted 10 meters out from her own try-line and raced clear for the winning score.
Her 15th try gave her the women's record for a single tournament in the world series, eclipsing the 14 by New Zealand's Portia Woodman-Wickliffe in 2015 in Atlanta.
Crucially for Australia, Tia Hinds and Teagan Levi converted their four tries, while New Zealand missed two of four.
Spain's men reached their first final in world series history by beating Britain in the quarterfinals and New Zealand in the semifinals. New Zealand ended South Africa's four-season reign in Dubai in the quarters.
Spain dominated the first half and opened with a Pol Pla try from a Manu Moreno back-pass.
But two fingertip knock-ons with the try-line begging and a try-saving tackle on Eduardo Lopez by Fiji's Filipe Sauturaga came back to bite Spain.
Sauturaga spun out of a tackle to tie the score on halftime. Then Fiji pulled away in the second half. Jeremaia Matana fended off Lopez to score, then Viwa Naduvalo smashed through two defenders and gifted fellow replacement Ilikimi Vunaki the last try behind the posts.
Fiji's last tournament win was in Toulouse in May 2022. The two-time Olympic champion went winless through the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 world series. Fiji last won in Dubai in 2015.
“It's been a long time coming, a two-year wait,” emotional Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau said. "I'm so happy to get the monkey off our back now.
“We worked really hard the last six months, we suffered disappointment at the Olympics (lost the final to France). But I told the boys hard work always pays off, and it paid off here.”
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