Oceania 7s

The Gareth Baber-coached side defeated New Zealand 17-7 in its last match at Townsville in Queensland.

The national side was the only unbeaten team in the competition.

“We’ve played some good stuff and have been ordinary at times but we know that there’s always stuff to work on but we scored a good bag of tries and that’s what we’re always after and continue to work on our shape and quality of defense,” said Baber.

Hooker Iosefo Masi, Jiuta Wainiqolo and Meli Derenalagi scored a try each.

The announcement follows confirmation last week that the Sydney and Hamilton legs of the World Sevens Series have also been axed.

Oceania Rugby General Manager Bruce Cook said scrapping the November tournament was unfortunate but the right decision, with the health and well-being of the players, officials and public their top priority.

Australia completed a clean sweep of the men's and women's Oceania titles in Suva last year, with the Australian men and Fiji women sealing qualification to the now delayed Tokyo Olympics.

It was a double delight for the Aussie men, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a 19-12 win over Samoa earlier yesterday.

Both sides came from behind to win their finals against Fiji's teams.

The Aussie women trailed 12-0 in their championship final against FIjiana and stormed home with a 24-0 second-half to claim the gold medal.

That victory came after two wins over New Zealand in as many days, a huge boost of confidence for a young team.

After leading early on with two solid tries, Nauru stumbled with a couple of yellow cards and watched as Solomon’s fought back hard to take the lead 14-12 as the game drew to its end.

Things did not look good for Nauru as the final hooter blew, but sheer guts and determination saw Nauru run from inside their own 22 and pass the ball dozens of times in extra time to finally cross in the far corner for the try to steal the win.

Final Score Nauru 17 - 14 Solomon Islands

Photo Nauru Rugby Union 

The tournament aims to encourage equal opportunities for Women’s rugby and Deaf rugby across the Pacific region and beyond.

In a statement, Oceania Rugby Competitions Manager Wayne Schuster said they are excited about the inclusion of the Oceania Rugby Deaf tournament.

The category will feature International Deaf teams from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

The Canadian Women’s team and the Japan SDS Men’s and Women’s team will feature in this year’s format including Oceania’s Vanuatu Women’s team, who will feature in their first international rugby outing.

However, coach Dagan Kaierua says they are confident in the new players who have joined the team.

“We brought 80 per cent of the boys back. Unfortunately we do not have some key players due to commitments back home. But we believe in these new boys,” Kaierua said.

When asked about preparations, he said it’s not as good as last year.

“But we are still confident we will try to reach our target this year,” Kaierua said.

Nauru is pooled with New Zealand and New Caledonia.

The organisers are overwhelmed with the interest shown by the Island team in this year’s competition.

Oceania 7s Tournament Director, Wayne Schuster says the tournament is expected to be more competitive.

“With Nauru making their first appearance, there will be no shortage of passion and excitement in their maiden appearance at a regional and international Rugby 7s Tournament,” he said.

Nauru, alongside New Caledonia will be making their first appearance at the tournament.