Lautoka 1 win Fiji TV 7s Final 19 February, 2011

Fiji TV's Sponsorship and Marketing Manager, Joseph Kaitu'u (left) presents the trophy to Lautoka captain Joji Ragamate.

A young Lautoka 1 side beat Namosi 2 by 21-20 this afternoon to claim the Fiji TV Provincial 7s Trophy.

Namosi 2 looked to start the final with a hiss and a roar as Apenisa Dralia sliced open the Lautoka defense in the first minute of play, however just as it looked as he would score desperate covering defense just forced the playmaker into touch. 

Namosi 2 captain Sakenasa Aca then looked to stamp his authority on the game as he stepped his way around the defense only to be let down by a lack of support. His stray pass was snapped up by Lautoka and into the waiting arms of Eroni Ravaga who sped away to score under the posts. 

Metuisela Talebula made no mistake with the conversion to hand Lautoka a 7-nil lead. 

Namosi’s response was immediate as powerful forward Jasa Kadivuka broke away down the near sideline and then had the wherewithal to delay his pass long enough for Dralia who, despite the attentions of a number of defenders, found the momentum to get over the line and score. 

Dralia was unable to convert as Namosi trailed 7-5. 

Namosi continued to dominate and once again it was Aca who showed great guile to open up the Lautoka defense and find Waisale Dau on hand to score in the far corner. 

Dralia’s conversion hit the top of the crossbar and bounced back to leave the scores 7-10 in favour of Namosi. 

Just as it looked as if the teams would head to the breather with Police in front Lautoka struck again, this time it was Talebula who dotted down after the buzzer had sounded and then converted his own try. 

Lautoka headed into the breather 14-10 to the good. 

But Namosi once again came straight out the blocks in the second half with Mesulame Soga touching down after a penalty close to the Lautoka goal line. 

Namosi continued to dominate play and it looked more than certain they would be the next to score, however Lautoka had other ideas as Ravaga touched down under the posts with barely a minute left on the clock. 

Talebula’s third conversion meant Namosi need a converted try to score. 

To their credit Namosi’s heads never dropped and led by the inspirational Aca, who was later named player of the finals, Police gave themselves a chance when Epeli Vuniwaqa went over. 

With the buzzer already heard Dralia needed to nail the conversion for the win from near the sideline. He failed and Lautoka players erupted in pure joy as they claimed the win 21-20 and the $10,000 first prize cheque. 

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