Nearly 24-hours after the USA Sevens came to close, the rugby world is still buzzing about Samoa's easy disposal of perennial rugby powerhouse and defending IRB Sevens Champs New Zealand for a 33-12 win in Las Vegas.
From the stands I watched as Samoa trumped Scotland (41-12), Chile (29-12) and wily sevens heart-stoppers Kenya (19-7) in Saturday's Pool C matches. at the end of the first day it was clear that New Zealand was on its way to the finals followed closely by their southern hemisphere rivals Australia and South Africa.
But it was Samoa who was the dark horse of the competition this time who were spurned on by veteran Uale Mai who controlled the ebb and flow of each match, marshalling his troops to victory alongside the ever imposing Mikaele Pesamino and stalwarts Simaika Mikaele, Timoteo Iosua, Lolo Lui and Fautua Otto.
I have to admit (and I'll gladly list the names of other Samoan fans who were present that jumped on the same boat we floated without a paddle), that I was pessimistic going into the semi-finals against Australia. After witnessing the close call against Wales where Samoa edged out a hard-fought win just before the final buzzer, I had a hard lump of skeptisism in my chest as the boys lined up against Australia in the semis. And rightfully so as Brian Karuria-Henry and the Aussies put up an incredible display of gut and grits against Samoa. Australia's Kimami Situati was brilliant, running in two tries but it was the boot of Lolo Lui who saved the day, slotting in the conversion that sent Australia home and Manu Samoa on to face the might of New Zealand.
New Zealand came into the finals a bit battered and bruised after hard fought Pool A victories over Australia and France along with a walk over Guyana. And in day two of the competition they took some punishment against South Africa and although the final score does not give it justice, Kenya really roughed them up before bowing out 21-7.
Samoa came into the final after a bitter loss to Fiji in Wellington, denied entry to the cup quarters in George and a loss at the hands of New Zealand in the cup finals in Dubai. Redemption was at hand for the boys in blue but the tension was thicker in the stands than it was on the pitch. From the opening kick-off when Samoa handled the ball sloppily resulting in a turnover that resulted in a NZ try, nearly dampening the Samoan spirit before the contest had even started. But Sam Boyd Stadium did not fall into a despair and the chilly night air was about to be electrified by the brilliance of Alafoti Fa'osiliva and top tournament try-scoring machine Pesamino.
As both teams fought desperately to maintain control of the game, NZ's crisp passing and a few fortunate penalties in the oppositions side put them inside the twenty-two meter line with seconds ticking away before the half-time whistle. But just as the try line appeared to be just a heart beat away, Pesamino intercepted the first of two passes on the night, both resulting in sensational tries.
Alafoti Fa'osiliva was named Player of the Tournament for his game-breaking abilities and sevens tries over the two day event making the first Las Vegas event a total success for Samoa.
The United States continues to show vast improvement with each IRB Sevens Series leg. They nearly toppled the might of Fiji in their opening USA Sevens match (14-12), nearly outclassed the South Africans and beat up on their North American counterparts Canada to close day one.
The US went on to victories against Guyana and an incredible win over Argentina that set up their Bowl showdown with France. The crowd cheered the home team on to a 28-17 victory, led by Matt Hawkins, Nese Malifa and Mile Pulu. I also have to put in a shameless plug for recent rugby convert Leonard Peters. Gotta love a guy who can seamlessly switch from gridiron to rugby in such a short amount of time. The guy is a class act.
Despite a dismal showing from Fiji, the Pacific did very well this time around. Samoa is now just two points ahead of Fiji in the overall standings at 70, but New Zealand still holds a sizeable lead with 84 points.
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