WELLINGTON, Feb 6, 2010 (AFP) - Fiji held off a desperate Samoan finish to claim a 19-14 victory in the all-Polynesian final to the New Zealand round of the IRB Sevens series here Saturday.

It was a throwback to Fiji?s former glory days as they showcased their full artillery of sevens weaponry to counter the strong Samoans with overhead and no-look passes as well as scooping the ball off the ground one-handed.

The win lifted Fiji to within four points of the series leaders New Zealand who won the first two rounds in Dubai and George, South Africa, before falling to Samoa in the semi-finals here.

Samoa have moved up to third place ahead of England, who were beaten by Fiji in the semi-finals, with Australia fifth.

The final was locked at 7-all at half-time after Jiuta Lutumailagi put Fiji in front in the opening minute and Mikaele Pesamino replied for Samoa with a clever kick-and-chase move midway through the spell.

Samoa, without veteran playmaker and captain Lolo Lui, who was suspended following a dangerous tackle in the semi-final against New Zealand, appeared to lose their way against the Fijian artistry for most of the second spell.

Tries by Emosi Vucago and Osea Kolinisau saw Fiji race to a 19-7 lead before the Samoans regrouped with a minute to go and fought back with second try to Pesamino and were pressing the Fiji line again when the final hooter sounded.

New Zealand, who proved unbeatable in the first two tournaments in Dubai and George, came to a shuddering halt in their home tournament semi-finals when they were unable to master the power and speed of Samoa.

The Samoans were rarely stretched in pool play on Friday, struggled to a 14-12 win over Kenya in the quarter-finals, and trailled New Zealand 5-7 before their passing game clicked and they raced to a dominant 24-14 victory .

Fiji, once the pacesetters of sevens rugby, have been off the boil since winning the world title in 2006, but in Wellington they were the form side from the start.

They backed up their impressive unbeaten run through pool play with a 21-5 win over South Africa in the quarter-finals before disposing of England, tournament winners here last year, 28-19 in the semis.