New Zealand has won the Dubai Sevens title after beating Samoa 24-12 in the finals. Earlier on, Fiji beat the Springboks 17-5 in the quarter finals, ending the Boks’ reign as Dubai champions. 

In winning the title, they won their first IRB Sevens event in 18 months to take an early lead in the new World Series with 24 points, ahead of Samoa (20), and England and Fiji (16 apiece). The last time the Samoans faced New Zealand in a Cup final, they  beat them to win their first IRB Sevens Cup final in Wellington in February 2007. 

In their second match of the day - a Plate final, South Africa lost 7-0 to Australia. The Pacific islanders registered their third successive win over South Africa. The Boks were a far cry from the side that demolished their opponents in Pool matches. They looked nervous at times and made several basic mistakes. – Additional reporting by Sapa