AUSSIES SHOW GOLDEN GLOW IN GAMES WARM UP

October 3: The Australian Rugby Sevens team has  flashed its gold medal credentials less than two weeks out from the Commonwealth Games by outgunning IRB World Series champions Samoa 34-12 to win the Oceania Sevens Championship in Darwin on Saturday.

Skipper Patrick McCutcheon (pictured with English great Ben Gollings at last year's Hyperion Gold Coast 7s) and his young team overran the IRB's No.1 side in an exciting final at Austar Rugby Park and will head to Delhi on Tuesday full of confidence they can better Australia's best Games result of third achieved in 1998.

Returning Sevens star Luke Morahan scored a double in the decider and powerful forward Jesse Parahi also crossed for two tries in Australia's six-tries-to-two romp.

Australia completed the tournament undefeated after also accounting for Tahiti 51-0 and Tonga 24-5 on day two in a performance which made all the more impressive by the host of stars unavailable with niggling injuries.

Qantas Wallabies winger Lachlan Turner was ruled out minutes before the final as a precaution after rolling his ankle warming up while Western Force winger Nick Cummins (shoulder), Queensland Reds rookie recruits Liam Gill (ankle) and Kimami Sitauti (ankle) and Sydney Uni fly-half Bernard Foley (ankle) played little to no part at the eight-team FORU tournament - but will all be fit for Delhi.

The impressive result also ends Australia's run of four losses against Samoa this year.

Player of the tournament Morahan said the Oceania Sevens victory was a good hit-out before the Games.

"I think that's the first time that I have ever beaten Samoa, but they're only going to get better in a big tournament and we're going to have to contend with New Zealand as well," Morahan said.

"To win here was great especially with the number of guys we had injured.

"I definitely think we've proven we're medal contenders in Delhi."

After top performances at the event, Cook Islands, PNG and Tonga have qualified to compete at the Adelaide and Wellington Sevens events on the IRB Sevens World Series in 2011, while third place getters Tonga will also compete in Hong Kong.

ARU Press Release

• Australia, Samoa, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea will also field teams in the 20-team Hyperion Gold Coast International Sevens at Albert Park Surfers Paradise on November 13 and 14.