It’s been a long time coming, coach says after Fiji win Dubai 7s title

Dubai: Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau heaved a sigh of relief as his team were crowned the Emirates Dubai 7s champion at Dubai Sevens on Sunday, the first leg of the HSBC SVNS 2024/25 series. In the women’s championship, Australia defeated New Zealand to retain their Dubai title.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Kolinisau, who was delighted his side had broken their long run without a title. “I’m so happy for the boys. I’m so happy that we’ve got the monkey off our back now.”

Fiji beat Spain 19-5 to lift the men’s trophy and claim their first SVNS tournament victory since 2022, and their first in Dubai since 2016. Argentina claimed the men’s bronze medals with a convincing 14-0 win over New Zealand.

Kolinisau, who was retained after the silver medal win at the Paris Olympics earlier this year, added, “Last one here was nine years again. I thank all the people back home and our families for always supporting us.”

Despite the loss, credit goes to Spain for their fairytale run in reaching their first-ever Sevens Cup final. They completed a dream run en route to the match, which included victories over New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain.

Incredible win

Australia women secured an incredible fifth successive women’s tournament victory in Dubai but they had to work hard for it in an epic final against Olympic champions New Zealand which finished 28-24. France overcame Great Britain 15-12 to take home the women’s bronze medals.

Three-days of non-stop entertainment ended on a high-note with British star Stormzy returning to Dubai especially to close out Emirates Dubai 7s 2024 on its Frequency on 8 stage. The much-awaited set from Stormzy saw him perform all his hits including ‘Backbone’, ‘Own It’ and ‘Crown’ to a crowd of over 25,000 people.

The weekend also featured a full 3-day line-up of artists and DJs of all genres performing across the event’s 3 stages. Saturday night’s headliners Sugababes brought in a huge crowd to the Rugby Rocks stage, and Artful Dodger and Nathan Dawe wowed fans at the popular Beats on 2 DJ deck, with epic sunset sets overlooking the venue’s rugby pitches.

Alongside the HSBC SVNS action, the festival attracted teams from all around the world to compete in invitational rugby, netball, cricket, padel tennis and fitness tournaments. This year saw the event’s biggest number of teams yet competing for the sought-after Dubai 7s trophies.

The Emirates Dubai 7s’ dedicated cricket zone was headed-up by an impressive line-up of cricket ambassadors including Indian international Dinesh Karthik and English players Tom Hartley and Georgia Elwis, whilst global cricket supporter groups Bharat Army and Barmy Army flew to Dubai to compete in the event’s Open Competitive cricket tournament.

This year saw the ultimate Emirates Dubai 7s ‘Family Friday’ with a bigger than ever Kids’ Zone full of entertainment for all kids of all ages starts including sports and DJ masterclasses, a huge soft play, skill-games for teens, live entertainment and even an outdoor cinema in the evening.

Mathew Tait, Festival Director of Emirates Dubai 7s said: ‘This weekend has been our biggest Dubai 7s to date. The double-header music schedule, combined with our expansive F&B offering, thrilling international rugby and entertainment to suit all ages reinforces our reputation as the best weekend of the year for UAE residents of all ages.’