Fijiana captain Ilisapeci Delaiwau and Fiji men's captain Jerry Matana at the tournament venue, the new Kai Tak Sports Park before the tournament kicked off. Photo: Supplied / Fiji Rugby Union
Fiji started their campaign at the 2025 Hong Kong Sevens tournament at the new Kai Tak Sports Park on Friday with a bang.
The Fijiana women's sevens team defeated Ireland 26-17 in their Pool B opener, while their men's team got on after and defeated USA 26-21 in their opening game.
In the women's competition, Ireland struck back to draw 12-all after Fiji had led 12-0.
But the Fijians struck back with 14 unanswered points to take the win in the teams' first pool match.
Fijiana captain Ilisapeci Delaiwau led the side on the fight back, as they celebrated the win in the end.
Head coach Richard Walker, who is on his first assignment after taking over early this month from interim coach Timoci Volavola, said he hopes the team can carry the momentum from their Vancouver Sevens final earlier.
He said before the event kicked off he wants his players to play without hesitation and enjoy themselves on the field.
Walker said his team has no problem on attack but will need to work on their defence, especially close in ruck areas.
"Just some basics and detail on the defence side, trying to get them to make sure we cover all areas on the ruck just because the ruck area is where we have most turnovers in 7s, so we have really been working on the defence side of that," he said.
Lapse in focus in the second spell saw them let through Ireland for tries but once they had settled after facing some early Irish pressure they got back in control.
In the men's competition, Jerry Matana and his warriors took the field straight after the Fijiana walked off and fought all the way to win their opener.
Joji Nasova and Filipe Sauturaga were early scorers for the Fijians, but the Americans fought back to stay close in the game.
However, the Fijians, who have been the dominant team at the Kong Kong event, got home in the end.
Head coach Osea Kolinisau said before the event got underway that they will work on playing their own game and sticking to their game plan.
He said he hopes they can emulate past teams who have won at the event.
In some early matches in the women's competition, Canada beat Japan 24-17, Australia proved too strong for Spain winning 52-12, and France beat Great Britain 22-12.
In the men's competition, Great Britain defeated Olympic Games gold medallists France 12-9 while Kenya upset current second-placed team on the points table, Spain, 19-0 in a major upset.
Fijian Jone Kubu Tavaga played for the Kenyans.
Pool matches in the fifth event of the 2025 HSBC World Sevens Series will finish on Saturday afternoon, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Saturday night.
