Classic World Cup encounters: 2005
By Nigel Starmer-Smith
As a sporting occasion I think the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong exceeded every expectation, certainly mine, and I don't think I've ever encountered such an emotional event.
It was back where it needed to be in Hong Kong that year and I look back on it all now like a bit of a fairy tale. New Zealand were the defending champions and they'd been so dominant on the World Series and yet it ended up with the most extraordinary turn of events.
The mood was certainly set on day one. New Zealand struggled to get past Tonga 19-12, Tunisia beat South Africa in their first ever World Cup - sheer disbelief - France beat England who had been far more dominant on the World stage and those kind of results just set the tone.
All the time, one looks back and wonders whether the whole outcome hadn't been pre-ordained.. In retrospect it certainly seems as though it was. The quarter finals pretty much went to form, except Australia, who had done nothing on the World Series, beating South Africa 15-14 for a real shock.
And so you had the semi finals with New Zealand playing Australia in the trans-Tasman clash, which was exceptionally good. For New Zealand you had players like young Liam Messam and old hands like Amasio Valence the playmaker supreme and Josh Blackie with his power and ball-winning ability and they just had the edge over Australia, 24-20.
Everyone thought, how can that possibly be followed? And it was.
Classic encouter: Fiji v England
Over the years I don't think I've ever seen a better Sevens game than the one that followed, an absolute classic between England and Fiji.
Fiji had all the talents - obviously Serevi was there, the man who had ghosted them to triumph in 1997, and he had alongside him players he himself brought back who hadn't been playing on the Series. Bobo was there, Delasau, the two Satalas, Nasoni Roko and few other older hands as well as a youngster by the name of William Ryder. It wasn't to be his triumphant tournament but he did score seven tries on his debut, a taste of things to come.
It ended up with the most extraordinary exchange of points. England came back right at the death of normal time with their captain Simon Amor scoring a try, which left his world class half back partner Ben Gollings, by now the leading all-time point scorer in international Sevens, with a conversion attempt to win it.
Every year I think back to that kick and it seems to get closer every time. It missed by a whisker, probably half a foot from way out wide on the left, toughest for the left-footed Gollings, which meant that it was locked together all square, and sudden-death followed.
Serevi the master
If there was ever a cameo in Sevens that will live in my memory forever, it was the final race for the winning score, which pitted Ben Gollings, a maestro in England colours, against the legend Waisale Serevi, well past 30 years old by then. The two of them were locked in a race for the corner, whoever won it was either going to save the match, or win a place in the final, and it was Serevi with a little master stroke, a feint and a dash and a dart that edged him to the corner to get the golden try in extra time.
The crowd stood to a man at the end of what was the greatest Sevens tie I have ever scene.
Amazingly after that, the final was not an anti-climax but that stage somehow we already knew that it was written in the stars that Serevi would lead this side to the title. And so he did.
Fiji established a 17-7 lead, New Zealand came back to make them work for the entire 20 minutes but at the end Fiji were there and the crowd once again stood in admiration for two of the greatest teams, one of the greatest performances and certainly the greatest final and final stages to a tournament ever seen.
There was Waisale Serevi with a team of old and new, blended together, his little son on his shoulders as he lifted the Cup high above. The fireworks went off at the end of what was the most emotionally draining but thrilling sporting spectacle you could ever wish to see.
Nigel Starmer-Smith will be commentating at the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens for men and women in Dubai on 5-7 March
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