The 26-year-old becomes the first man from his country to pick up the accolade and follows a superb season which has seen him cross the try-line no less than 52 times, putting him almost 20 clear of second-placed man Tim Mikkelson of New Zealand.

Mikkelson won the award last year and was nominated again along with Kyle Brown of South Africa and England's Tom Mitchell.

The shortlist was chosen by the management teams of the 15 core sides who competed at all nine rounds of this year's Series and was announced prior to the London Sevens last weekend, which saw New Zealand retain their crown as the number one sevens outfit in the world.

Viriviri came into the tournament on 48 tries and added four more to his tally as he helped Fiji to finish fourth at Twickenham and end the season third on the overall standings behind the Kiwis and second-placed South Africa.

"I am very proud to win this award and be the first Fijian to be named IRB Sevens Player of the Year," said Viriviri.

"I would like to thank God, my coach, my teammates and also my mum."

The Fijian flyer has bagged 52 tries in this season's Sevens World Series ©AFP/Getty Images



Fijian head coach Ben Ryan, who took over the side last September following six years in charge of England, was full of praise for his star winger.

"Sammi has had a breath-taking season," said Ryan, who guided Fiji to wins in Dubai and Tokyo in this year's Series.

"He's scored some incredible tries and defended superbly well.

"I think I can remember one time in this whole season when somebody went round him.

"He's played almost every minute and got better and better, firmly establishing himself as a world class sevens winger."

Much like they have the World Series, New Zealand has dominated the world Player of the Year awards since they were first introduced in 2004.

Orene Ai'i was the first All Black to win in 2005 followed by Afeleke Pelenise in 2007, DJ Forbes in 2008 and Tomasi Cama in 2012.

England's Simon Amor and Ollir Phillips were winners in 2004 and 2009 respectively, while Samoans Uale Mai and Mikaele Pesamino picked up the award in 2006 and 2010 respectively with South African Cecil Afrika the 2011 winner.

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