Hat-trick hero Viwa Naduvalo powers Fiji into SVNS Perth Cup Final

Viwa Naduvalo scored a hat-trick as Fiji defeated a six-man All Blacks Sevens outfit 35-0 in the HSBC SVNS Perth semi-finals on Sunday. Fiji are one win away from winning titles at back-to-back events, with the Blitzboks standing in their way after overcoming Australia 28-12.

Fiji claimed their first piece of SVNS Series silverware this season when they beat France 21-12 in the Singapore decider last weekend. Viwa Naduvalo was the Player of the Final at the National Stadium, and the try-scoring phenomenon has been in top form again in Perth.

Naduvalo occupied top spot on the RugbyPass SVNS Series MVP leaderboard after three events and the 29-year-old continues to stake a claim for that accolade. In the fourth minute against the All Blacks Sevens, Naduvalo produced some spectacular skill to dive over for the opener.

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The Fijians broke upfield before an offload found Naduvalo’s boot. Naduvalo kicked the ball not once but twice before beating New Zealand’s Akuila Rokolisoa in the race for the loose ball, which sat up perfectly within the in-goal.

Rokolisoa was shown a red card shortly after for a spear tackle. New Zealand went down to six men for the remainder of the match against a confident Fiji side, who were leading the way on the overall SVNS Series standings ahead of the tournament in Perth.

Naduvalo completed a double with about 30 seconds left in the half, and the Fijians weren’t done there. It seemed George Bose had scored another five-pointer in the final play of the half, but the referees ruled out the effort for an infringement during the build-up.

It was 14-0 at the break and it didn’t take Fiji long to run away with this match, delivering a clinical performance during the second term. Nacani Boginisoko got the ball unmarked near the right sideline, strolling in for the first points of the second term.

Pilipo Bukayaro was next to strike in the 11^th minute, before Naduvalo completed a hat-trick with what was ultimately the final point-scoring play of the semi-final. Naduvalo had the ball inside New Zealand’s 22, with a huge gap opening up after throwing a dummy pass.

Fiji will take on South Africa for the second time in as many days, having beaten the Blitzboks 20-14 in a thrilling Pool A fixture on Saturday evening. Naduvalo was one of the heroes for Fiji in that match as well, touching down for a double.

Shilton van Wyk raced away for the first try of the semi-final in the third minute, but Australia hit back almost immediately through three-time Olympian Henry Hutchison. But the Boks still ended up taking a hard-fought lead into the half-time huddle.

Sebastiaan Jobb got on the scoresheet with a try just before the break. Ricardo Duarttee went two-from-two with his conversion attempts during the first term, seeing the Blitzboks take a 14-5 lead into the interval.

In-form flyer Ben Dowling gave Australian supporters a reason to dream early in the second term, running away for the first points of the half. It was suddenly a two-point game yet again, but a yellow card against Aden Ekanayake was another key moment.

Jobb scored his second with about four minutes remaining, before Tristan Leyds set up Duarttee soon after. It was a point-scoring swing that had South Africa on the cusp of a Cup Final in Perth, with Australia trailing by 16 with two to play.