On a weekend of shock results, Samoa saved possibly the biggest upset for last, producing a stunning second-half comeback to beat Sevens World Series leader Fiji in the Paris final.
Having trailed 26-7 at the interval, head coach Damian McGrath gave a stirring halftime team talk that roused Fiji into scoring 22 unanswered points against its South Pacific neighbor to lift a first Cup since 2012.
“It’s a huge surprise, especially after Fiji were so strong against us yesterday,” McGrath said, referring to Saturday’s 42-5 defeat in the group stage.
“We wanted to get some pride back and we did that. At halftime, I said if we get the first score we can get back into this. Self-belief is a huge thing, and they believed in themselves.”
In a semifinal draw that featured just one of the world’s top four nations, Fiji’s quality told against France, who gave the home fans plenty to cheer over the course of the three days, while Samoa edged out Argentina 14-12.
South Africa, which now lags 14 points behind leaders Fiji in the overall standings, overcame the disappointment of a Cup quarterfinal defeat by Samoa to beat New Zealand and Australia on its way to winning the consolatory Plate final.
Portugal triumphed over Wales in the Shield final, while England’s wretched run of form in the World Series continued with defeat to Scotland in the Bowl final.
The teams now travel to Twickenham, England to contest the final leg of the series on May 21 and 22, before all the attention turns to Monaco where 16 nations will compete for the one remaining place at Rio 2016.
