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Its proved a double celebration for Samoa’s Mikaele Pesamino who has been named IRB Sevens Player of the Year, following his country lifting an historic first World Series trophy.

The leading try-scorer in this year's Series with a remarkable 56 touchdowns, Pesamino beat off stiff competition from countrymen Lolo Lui and Alafoti Fa'osiliva and England's Ben Gollings to win the award.

"I wanted to be the top try scorer this year and I wanted to be the Player of the Year and I feel great, I feel happy, not only for me but also for my team mates, my family all the way from Samoa. They pray for us, they cheer for us, and also our fans, our younger players, this is our best gift for them for our Independence Day next week," said Pesamino.

 "It's Sunday today in Samoa and the people will go to church and the pastors will talk and I think they will talk about rugby on this day. Our Prime Minister said that we would have a national holiday if we won the Series, and we'll celebrate, we'll enjoy tonight and this is our best gift to our people."

It wasn’t just the volume of tries that Pesamino scored that impressed, but it was his ability to cross the line at key moments in big games.

He was a pivotal figure in the final of each of Samoa’s Cup wins in Las Vegas, Adelaide, Hong Kong and this weekend in Edinburgh, where he scored a hat-trick in the final against Australia.

Pesamino is the second Samoan to win the IRB Sevens Player of the Year Award, following team mate Uale Mai who scooped the prize in 2006.

Previous IRB Sevens Player of the Year:
2004 Simon Amor, England
2005 Orene Ai'i, New Zealand
2006 Uale Mai, Samoa
2007 Afeleke Pelenise, New Zealand
2008 DJ Forbes, New Zealand
2009 Ollie Phillips, England