Fiji thrash New Zealand 40-0 to reach SVNS Valladolid semi-finals

Fiji reached the semi-finals of the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Valladolid with a commanding 40-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday, running in six tries to end any doubt about their place in the final four at Estadio Jose Zorilla.

George Bose opened the scoring in the second minute, and Tomasi Vuluma added a second just before half-time to give Fiji a 12-point lead at the break. The second half became a rout, with Terio Veilawa diving on a kick-ahead in the ninth minute of the half to extend the advantage, before Akuila Dranivotua, Nacani Boginisoko, and Bose completed a 28-0 second-half blitz.

Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau, a former sevens great himself, pointed to the weight of the rivalry as a motivating factor. “New Zealand have always set the standard,” he said after the final whistle. “Fiji and New Zealand, you don’t have to fire Fiji boys up when you play New Zealand because of the rivalry, they just turn up. We know New Zealand have been playing well in the Championship… this week, we wanted to be better than Hong Kong.”

The result came 24 hours after Fiji suffered their first defeat of the Valladolid leg, going down 14-12 to hosts Spain in a result that gave the home crowd a moment to savour. Fiji had previously beaten Olympic champions France and the United States on the opening day.

The Fijians arrive in Spain chasing their second title of the 2025/26 World Championship season, having won SVNS Singapore earlier in the campaign. The regular-season title ultimately went to South Africa, who edged Fiji on competition points and then won the SVNS New York Cup Final before claiming the Hong Kong Sevens — their first Hong Kong title — at the first World Championship stop.

With the ladder resetting for the World Championship series, Fiji enter the Valladolid semi-finals with a genuine shot at the top prize, looking to improve on their fifth-place finish in Hong Kong.