Fiji returned to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in style with a stunning victory in Singapore. The Olympic champions overcame rivals New Zealand 28-17 in a pulsating final to claim their first Series title since Sydney in January 2020.
New Zealand go away with a worthy silver medal from their first outing of the 2022 Series while Australia beat an impressive Ireland 21-19 to clinch a hard-fought bronze medal and remain in contention for the 2022 Series title.
Prior to Singapore, South Africa had won all four rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 to date - and six in total in a row - but in Singapore’s National Stadium it was to be Fiji’s day.
Having seen their incredible 36-match unbeaten run ended on Saturday evening by the USA in the pool stage, the Series leaders South Africa lost again on Sunday to Fiji in the Cup quarter-finals and then to Argentina in the fifth place semi-final.
The close loss against Fiji meant that the Blitzboks failed to get into the Cup semi-finals for the first time in 12 tournaments, and coupled with lthe pool defeat to the USA, they lost three matches in a row for the first time since 2020.
The Blitzboks are still top of the log after winning the opening four tournaments of the 2022 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.