Fiji beats New Zealand to defend title at Hong Kong Sevens

HONG KONG (AP) Fiji beat New Zealand 21-7 on Sunday to defend its title at the Hong Sevens rugby tournament.

Kitione Taliga and Semi Kunatani scored tries in the second half after the two sides were tied 7-7 at halftime.

With three more rounds remaining, Fiji is in first place in the overall standings with 128 points, five ahead of New Zealand.

South Africa finished third after beating Australia 14-12 and is in third place in the standings with 122 points. Australia, with 105 points, rounds out the top four.

England beat the United States 19-0 in the Plate final.

Japan beat host Hong Kong 24-14 to secure a spot as a core team in all 10 rounds of the 2016-17 series. Japan will replace the bottom-ranked of the current core sides at the end of the season in London.