They could have played the title song from the long-running “South Pacific” stage show at the conclusion of the fan-fun-inspired USA World Sevens rugby tournament at Petco Park on Feb. 11, because the championship game was a battle of the islands as Fiji outlasted Samoa 38-24. And it was a reversal of a meeting a week ago in Wellington, when the Samoans won the battle of Polynesia.
The two teams have massive, strong talent and were quick on their feet despite the slippery field from a misty rain.
It was also a time for the USA team to rejoice, finishing with a 3-3 performance and a 26-5 victory over Portugal in the consolation Shields Final. The team entered the tournament with a dismal 12-game losing streak.
But the favored teams from New Zealand, Argentina and England were cast aside as the bigger men probably more associated with beachcombing prevailed.
After an overtime 26-21 victory over South Africa, Fiji then stood off New Zealand, 19-10, to reach the main event. Samoa knocked off Scotland 34-0 and France 38-0.
Tourney executive director Ray Peterson was pleased at the two-day crowd of 29,992 despite the rains, though he had hoped to draw 40,000.
“Before we made the decision to move this event from Carson City to San Diego, we had had many earlier options: Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Dallas,” Peterson said. “We took one look around at Petco Park and the Gaslamp, and in an hour I said why would we go anywhere else.” The organization has a five-year contract to play here.
Starting at 10 a.m., a full day of 14-minute swift matches of keep-away, passing, kicking and tackling ensued. Never was there a dull moment with other teams going through warm-up exercises on an adjoining field. And the tournament schedule was on time as new teams entered the arena aand others shared postgame handshakes.
The boisterous sounds from the stands were like war chants as the team followers cheered on their favorites. The “USA” chant must have spurred on the home team after its 14-7 opening loss to Canada.
“After reviewing tape of the last couple games, we turned our focus on not missing any tackles, and I was really proud of the guys’ patience and ball control in this last match,” said USA coach Al Caravelli. “The final score really didn’t reflect how well Portugal played. They are tough competitors on the field, and we have high regards for them as a sevens team. Making sure tackles, which were the reasons we lost to England and Australia, was so important in our last two games.”
He said he’s never satisfied and never likes losing.
Three members of his team “” Riaan Hamilton, Todd Clever and Jaravis Albury “” are from the national champion Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC) squad. Hamilton, a former MVP in a domestic tourney, is captain of the Eagles.
A Fiji fan looking on from the sidelines as his team wrapped up the victory said, jokingly, “Our population is 850,000. What else have we got?” This was a major victory.
Sixteen teams “” more like representatives from the United Nations “” started in the quick journeys on Saturday morning and closed out at 5:30 Sunday.
Other teams in the mix were Scotland, Kenya, Australia, Chile, Tonga and France.
As another fan put it, “It’s just sport. They play hard and we yell. Then we’re friends again.”