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A living legend made a cameo appearance to sink New Zealand's ambitions at the Hong Kong sevens rugby tournament on Sunday night.
New Zealand bowed out after losing their semifinal 12-21 to Fiji, who sealed victory in the dying moments thanks to a try to the incomparable Waisale
Serevi.
Serevi, now 38 and acting as player-coach for the reigning world champions, did not take the field until the last two minutes with his side clinging to a 14-12 advantage.
After both sides almost reduced themselves to a stand still as they launched a series of counter-attacks, it was Serevi who cantered to the line -- displaying the ball like a trophy -- to decide the outcome in the last movement of a physical match.
The fairytale did not last for Serevi as Samoa, who eliminated South Africa 10-0 in the semifinals, went on to win the Hong Kong title for the first time since 1993.
Three quickfire tries in the opening minutes stunned Fiji in the final as Samoa, who won the Wellington title in February, led 27-0 at halftime before prevailing 27-22.
Serevi, the most gifted and enduring individual the sevens game has produced, had earlier plotted against New Zealand from the sideline as Fiji earned a 7-5 halftime lead despite an early try from Zar Lawrence.
Lepani Nabuliwaqa responded for the Fijians and the subsequent conversion gave them a narrow lead, which they stretched after the break when Setefano Cakau scored.
Cakau's try came in the absence of Lawrence, who was sinbinned for two minutes for a heavy tackle on William Ryder.
Ryder milked the moment, staying motionless on the ground as the referee spoke to Lawrence before directing the New Zealander to the sideline.
Ryder, who has inherited Serevi's mantle as Fiji's most dangerous player, got to his feet soon enough to take the tap penalty, stab a kick ahead which he regathered to feed Cakau en route to the tryline.
New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said his team were hampered by being one man down when they temporarily lost Lawrence, but he did not complain about the referee's call.
"They (Fiji) just identified the space and they used it and they used it well," he said.
New Zealand refused to go away, captain DJ Forbes crossing to reduce the deficit after a great offload from Steven Yates to leave the result in the balance until Serevi had the final word.
New Zealand and Fiji had entered the Hong Kong tournament, the fifth of eight events in the International Rugby Board world series, sharing the championship lead on 60 points.
Earlier, New Zealand thumped England 26-0 in their quarterfinal.
It was no April Fool's joke for England, the four-time defending Hong Kong champions, who slumped to their first loss in 28 matches at the venue.
New Zealand were most impressive, suffocating the England ball carriers while taking most of the opportunities which came their way.
The outcome was apparent at halftime by which time the New Zealanders led 19-0 after tries to Afeleke Pelenise, Yates and Nigel Hunt.
New Zealand did not add to their tally until late in the second half when Forbes effected a turnover, replacement Cama split the defence and Solomon King finished off.
New Zealand results:
Semifinal: New Zealand 12 (Zar Lawrence, DJ Forbes tries; Tomasi Cama con) Fiji 21. Halftime: 5-7.
Quarterfinal: New Zealand 26 (Afeleke Pelenise, Steven Yates, Solomon King, Nigel Hunt tries; Hunt 2 con, Cama con) England 0. Halftime: 19-0.
- NZPA