Rugby sevens: Serevi passes the mantle to another Fiji wizard

Sevens legend Waisale Serevi believes the mantle of sevens greatness has been passed on to William Ryder after the youngster starred in Fiji's sevens triumph in Wellington.

For so long Ryder has been compared to Serevi, the look, mannerisms and skills bearing a remarkable likeness to the man who has led Fiji to countless titles for nearly 20 years.

Yet Saturday night was Ryder's first start in any tournament final, after Serevi believed it was time to introduce his successor to the big time.

Ryder took advantage with a performance his mentor would have been proud to call his own as Fiji beat South Africa in extra time.

Before a late fightback by South Africa sent the match into overtime, the final belonged to Ryder, who scored a breathtaking hat-trick of tries and set up Fiji's other try in normal time with a mix of guile and acceleration.

Player/coach Serevi, who kept himself on the reserves bench until late, simply shook his head as he reflected on the youngster's display.

He laughed when asked if it reminded him of the wizardry he regularly produced in his prime.

"Yes, I can see that. What do you think?" he said. "He's a great player. I salute him for playing a wonderful game in the final.

"Today I wanted to give him more game time and I thought he handled it well. There's a lot of good rugby times ahead of him."

Ryder's exploits were very nearly eclipsed as two tries to lightning-quick South African captain Fabian Juries helped turn around a 5-17 halftime scoreline and 10-22 deficit with 90 seconds remaining.

South Africa's try after the final hooter levelled the scores at 22-22 but Stefan Basson could not land what would have been the matchwinning conversion from 20m in from touch.

Another of Fiji's rising stars, Neumi Nanuku, then sealed victory with a try in extra time.

Such is the fickle nature of sevens, Fiji could have lost any of their three matches on Saturday but the class of the World Cup holders told as they surged clear on top of the IRB series standings. They conjured a late try to beat Australia 21-14 in the quarter-finals and were trailing New Zealand midway through the second half before the three-time defending champions blew it when youngster Lote Raikabula was sinbinned for a high tackle.

Fiji took advantage to win 26-14.

Raikabula was pleased there is just a week to wait for a shot at redemption.

The 22-year-old was not hiding from his act after the young New Zealand team failed to win a fourth consecutive title at Westpac Stadium.

The Fijian-born flyer admitted referee James Leckie had given him a warning after an earlier tackle which bordered on high.

"There's only one ref out there. I really let [the team] down and I feel sorry for the boys. But we always have a second chance and I'm looking forward to that," Raikabula said, referring to the tournament in Los Angeles starting on Friday.

"We're looking forward to the next one and hopefully we can do better."

Serevi expected it would be just as hard in Los Angeles.

"The tournaments are getting tougher and tougher. There are six or seven teams who can win. You don't automatically win next week."

* The world series is slipping from New Zealand's grasp but yesterday they announced they would launch a firmer defence of their Commonwealth Games sevens gold medal through the inclusion of five Super 14 players.

Coach Gordon Tietjens named veteran All Blacks and Blues winger Doug Howlett in a 22-strong group to prepare for next month's Games.

The other Super 14 players are Sosene Anesi (Chiefs), Tamati Ellison (Hurricanes), Tanerau Latimer (Crusaders) and Josh Blackie (Highlanders). Tietjens knows these four well from previous seasons in his squad but Howlett has never played the game internationally.

STANDINGS

Fiji 56
England 40
South Africa 40
New Zealand 26
Argentina 26
Samoa 24
France 22
Australia 12
Wales 4
Scotland 2

NZ SQUAD FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES

* Sosene Anesi (Waikato), Charles Baxter (Bay of Plenty), Josh Blackie (Otago), Edwin Cocker (Otago), Tamati Ellison (Wellington), DJ Forbes (Auckland), Doug Howlett (Auckland), Craig Hudson (North Harbour), Nigel Hunt (Wellington), Tafai Ioasa (Hawkes Bay), Cory Jane (Wellington), Tanerau Latimer (Bay of Plenty), Zar Lawrence (North Harbour), James Maher (Counties Manukau), Lachie Munro (Auckland), Alfred Pelenise (Canterbury), Lote Raikabula (Wellington), Hayden Reid (Bay of Plenty), Alando Soakai (Otago), Dwayne Sweeney (Waikato), Onosai Tololima-Auva'a (Auckland), Amasio Valence (Auckland).

* The squad will be trimmed to 12.

- NZPA