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Fiji captain Emosi Vucago has paid tribute to his side’s dedicated work ethic as one of the major reasons behind their success at the NZI Sevens in Wellington.

Vucago led from the front in the final against South Pacific rivals Samoa, scoring a crucial try in the second half to give his side the lead.

"We've sacrificed a lot. In Dubai and George we lost in the semi finals and we went back to Fiji and trained hard. On New Year's Eve we were in camp and that's why we've won the tournament today - we're very proud,” he told the IRB.

Fiji has now closed the gap on Series leader New Zealand to just four points following their win, with the fourth leg of the IRB Sevens World Series starting next weekend in Las Vegas.

Fiji coach Iliesa Tanivula agreed with his captain and was full of admiration for his side’s determination to improve from their performances before Christmas.

"The players too deserve full credit because they have withstood the pressures within the past year and delivered," he said.

"Credit to the players the way they've come in with a disciplined mindset, it's a great bunch of players to work with and hopefully we can keep on going up from here.

"Even when we camped during the festive season, I was criticised but we knew very well what was needed to be done after Dubai and George."

The biggest shock from the second day’s play was hosts New Zealand’s exit to Samoa at the semi-final stage. The Kiwis had been in cruise control for much of the weekend but paid the cost for missed tackles and a Uale Mai hat-trick that inspired Samoa.

"There were too many crucial errors, two clear ones [missed tackles] by myself were very disappointing," said New Zealand captain DJ Forbes.

"Obviously the boys are shattered. Well done to the Samoans, they really stuck to their guns and punished us."