Fiji paid the price for having a player yellow carded in each half as New Zealand pounced for a 31-21 victory in the final of the Dubai Sevens.

Gordon Tietjens' side twice made their numerical advantage immediately count with well-taken tries on their way to opening up a 26-point lead in what appeared to be an anti-climactic match.

But Neumi Nanuku - back on the field after being sinbinned for shoulder charging Nigel Hunt - launched the fightback with a kick and chase converted try.

A minute later Vereniki Goneva dummied his way through some weak cover for another converted score and Fiji then romped straight back up field for Akuila Nawerecagi to touch down close to the posts and help make the score 26-21.

New Zealand, who led 21-0 the previous evening against France but then conceded 19 unanswered points in a narrow win, suddenly appeared vulnerable.

But Fiji made a hash of the restart, and the men in black recycled possession for Steven Yates to cross on the right and finally make the game safe.

Earlier, Emosi Vucago was yellow carded in the second minute for preventing a quickly taken tap penalty, and New Zealand responded with the first of two long-range tries for Zar Lawrence.

Hunt added try No.3 before the break while Yates's first touchdown helped make the lead 26-0 before Fiji finally sparked into action.

New Zealand, chasing an eighth world title in nine seasons, reached the final with a 12-7 defeat of Dubai holders South Africa while Fiji just managed to hold off a resurgent England in their semi-final.

New Zealand skipper DJ Forbes said Fiji's fight back had him worried. "You can never write anyone off in sevens," he said. "But we knuckled down and stuck to our guns. They were very hard to contain but we showed a lot of character and dug deep."

And coach Tietjens said he was pleased with the way New Zealand responded to the two yellow cards for their first win in Dubai since 2003. "We used our heads to score quick tries after the sinbinnings," he said. "But in the second half we fell off tackles and almost paid the penalty."

Argentina battled back from trailing 14-0 at half-time to overcome Samoa 15-14 in the plate final with Alejandro Abadie, Santiago Gomez Cora and Agustin Gosio claiming tries.

Peter Owens touched down a treble as Australia proved too strong for Canada in the bowl play-off, skipper Shawn MacKay and Tim Wright completing the list of try scorers in a 31-0 triumph.

And Zimbabwe rallied from 19-10 down to bounce back and trump Tunisia 22-19 in the shield final thanks to two tries apiece from Gerald Sibanda and Wensley Mbanje.

Cup quarter-finals
New Zealand 40 Argentina 7
South Africa 17 Kenya 15
Samoa 19 England 26
Fiji 28 Scotland 5

Cup semi-finals
New Zealand 12 South Africa 7
England 21 Fiji 22

Cup final
New Zealand 31 Fiji 21

Plate semi-finals
Argentina 17 Kenya 14
Samoa 28 Scotland 19

Plate final
Argentina 15 Samoa 14

Bowl quarter-finals
France 24 Zimbabwe 19
Canada 21 United States 12
Wales 17 Tunisia 12
Australia 36 Arabian Gulf 5

Bowl semi-finals
France 5 Canada 21
Wales 19 Australia 22

Bowl final
Canada 0 Australia 31

Shield semi-finals
Zimbabwe 29 United States 17
Tunisia 36 Arabian Gulf 0

Shield final
Zimbabwe 22 Tunisia 19

AFP