The Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s side has gone down 12-5 to a strong Japan side in their first pool game at the Hong Kong 7s.
Debutant Atelaite Ralivanawa drew first blood to give the Fijiana an early 5-0 lead.
The Fijiana led 5-0 at the break.
Mei Ohtani finally got Japan on the board in the 11th minute after continuous assaults inside the Fijiana 22.
After a bit of back and forth in possession, Natsuki Ouchida finally scored the game-winner in the 15th minute after they received a penalty and utilised their winger on the outside to make it 12-5.
Richard Walker and his Fijiana side will have a tough task ahead of them when they face Brazil at 12.01am Saturday in their second pool match.
They will then play New Zealand at 5.01pm tomorrow in their last pool match.
In other games, France thumped Argentina 29-14, USA beat Spain 24-7, Canada thrashed Great Britain 41-7, Australia annihilated South Africa 33-0, France defeated Spain 31-14, the USA beat Argentina 27-5, Canada thrashed South Africa 31-0, Australia beat Great Britain 34-7, while New Zealand thumped Brazil 29-12.
The women's Cup quarterfinals start at 9.13pm tomorrow.
The women's Cup semifinals are at 5.14pm Sunday while the Cup final is at 10.35pm.
