Kia ora, Talofa, Ma’lelei, Bula and Welcome to Season 08 Episode 54 of Breakfast Bites, by TeivovoSports.com – a wrap of Pasifika people’s sports news, on a sunny and bright Monday morning 26 February 2024. Coming to you with tons of hanisi from the 180th meridian in the middle of the Blue Continent. In rugby union: The HSBC SVNS Vancouver 7s Semi-finals kick off at 10.15am Fiji time this morning with the Women’s: Canada vs New Zealand and France vs Australia. In the Men’s semi-finals: USA vs Argentina and New Zealand vs France. On day two under the roof at BC Place in Vancouver the All Blacks 7s edged a desperate Fiji Men in a fiery quarter-final, running out 21-19 winners with Joe Webber scoring his one hundredth try. Current Men’s SVNS leaders Argentina were made to work hard for a 14-12 defeat of Samoa. While USA ran out 27-0 winners over Great Britain in a one-sided quarter-final with a pair of tries for Perry Baker who sits third on the all-time try scoring chart. In the women’s competition there was joy for hosts Canada as they overcame rivals USA 12-10 in an epic quarter-final battle. The Black Ferns 7s continued their impressive form in Vancouver with a 36-0 demolition of Spain in their quarter-final. Current SVNS leaders Australia booked their place in the semi-finals thanks to an entertaining 35-19 win over Fijiana, while France beat Brazil 24-5 in their quarter-final. In rugby league: Super League Champions Wigan pulled off an incredible 16-12 win over three-time reigning NRL premiers Penrith in the World Club Challenge in England overnight. The Warriors took the lead with a controversial try to Super League grand final Man-of-the-Match Jake Wardle in the 53rd minute. Wardle appeared to ground the ball short of the line before moving onto the line, but it was sent upstairs as a try and the video referee found “insufficient evidence” to overturn the on-field decision. The try proved the final score of the match and after sending the home crowd into raptures it ignited uproar in Australia – well in parts of western Sydney really! In SportsBiz: After a record year of regular-season attendance in 2023 of 22,111 fans per game and almost 11 million in total, MLS is touting a variety of positive metrics pointing toward the Messi momentum continuing. Inter Miami sold out of season tickets in November, and league-wide, overall revenue from season ticket sales for MLS clubs is up 25% compared to this same point last season. MLS also says sponsors are spending more dollars, with revenue up 17% for MLS and 15% for Clubs, plus the official MLS online store is seeing a sales spike of 44%.The question now is whether all those flashy numbers keep trending up throughout the season. In Football: Liverpool Captain Virgil van Dijk headed the winner deep into extra time as Jurgen Klopp’s massively-depleted side beat Chelsea one nil to claim a record-extending 10th Carabao Cup. The Dutch defender, who controversially had another header ruled out in the second half after VAR intervention, rose highest to nod in a corner in the 118th minute. Finally only in the USA: Las Vegas’ top cop has given his personal mobile number to the NRL players in his city for next weekend’s historic season opener. Lieutenant Kendall Bell has vowed to do “whatever needs to be done” to get players home safe if they find themselves in trouble. Bell implored players to ask for help instead of trying to solve a problem on the strip themselves after a few too many drinks. Geez guys- just don’t drink for one weekend! And that’s a wrap! For TeivovoSports.com I’m Culden Kamea – please hit the like and subscribe buttons below if you want to receive more Pasifika sports highlights on Breakfast Bites. Mahalo, Kakite and tank you all too mas for all your love and support. #TEIVOVORugby #TEIVOVODigital #TeivovoRugby #TeivovoDigital #rugby #rugby7s #FijiRugby #rugbyunion #rugbyleague #Raka #team #rugbytraini