DUBAI — The last day of the Dubai Rugby Sevens was one to throw out the formbook.



Paul Perez scored two tries Saturday to help Samoa beat New Zealand 26-15 to claim its first Dubai Sevens title, the second leg of the International Rugby Board’s Sevens World Series. The 2010 champion jumped out to 12-0 and 19-5 leads before New Zealand scored just before halftime to make it 19-10. New Zealand’s Kurt Baker made it 19-15 just after halftime, but Samoa scored the last try. Kenya beat France 15-12 in the playoff for third place.



The biggest shock of the first session came when Wales flattened Fiji, tipped to meet New Zealand for the cup, 27-5. It was a mightily popular win and lifted the crowd in the storm-cleaned sun of the day.



Samoa beat Wales 19-7 in the quarterfinals before edging out France 12-5 following a late try. New Zealand, which finished the group stage undefeated, routed Portugal 28-7 in the last eight and Kenya 27-7 in the semifinals.



In the first final of the inaugural women’s series, New Zealand thrashed South Africa 41-0.



Saturday was semifinals day for Jeddah, riding high in confidence as it took on the Jebel Ali Dragons for a place in the Men’s Gulf final. Jeddah took command from the start and opened its account with a swiftly delivered try in the opening moments of the match from Sergey Yurchenko, to rack up 5 points.



With one try under the belt, the next saw two more converted tries with Rob Holmyard and Lee Hopkins doing the honors diving a half-time score of 19-0. The Lee-Holmyard partnership got to work again in the second half and converted two more tries for a 33-7 win.



In the final Unofficially Retired, who had been watching Jeddah’s performances effectively shut down “everywhere man” and leading try scorer Sou Mayake. Retired proved to be a skilled, but marginally slower team, whose effective passing and greater experience showed throughout. The final score, 17-0, in favor of Retired was well taken and credit is due to the winner for its reading of Jeddah’s style.



Nonetheless, Jeddah Rugby Union Football Club, with its amicable mix of Saudi and expatriate players, can hold its heads high. — SG