Fiji eased past a team it lost to twice in the final when Samoa was smothered 38-12 in their Hong Kong Sevens opener last night.Fiji, a record 14-time winner of Hong Kong, expected a tough match against its South Pacific neighbor.They met three times in the final; Samoa won in 1993 and 2007, and Fiji in 1998. Their last match in Hong Kong, six years ago, was a draw.Samoa, criticized by its prime minister for slumping after making the Gold Coast final in the series opener, scored first through Tofatuimoana Solia, but by halftime Fiji led 21-7.Savenaca Rawaca crossed while Samoa's Lafaele Va'a was in the sin-bin, Semi Kunatani went in after Samoa dropped the ball, and Pio Tuwai scored from a sweeping, 80-meter attack.Samoa scored again in the second half, but Fiji finished in style, with replacement Josaia Wini scoring twice on debut.Defending champion New Zealand, and world series leader South Africa, also started well.When Scotland, which has never beaten New Zealand, leveled at 7-7, the kickoff was immediately returned 80 meters by Sherwin Stowers, and the Kiwis rolled on to win 26-7.Their biggest pool opposition will be Australia, for which Shannon Walker returned from a 14-month injury layoff and notched the last of its five tries in a 33-5 win over Portugal.South Africa latest bid to win a first Hong Kong title began by rubbing out Argentina 24-0. The best of the five tries was the second, when Werner Kok blasted up the middle, kicked ahead, and two South Africans could have grabbed the ball. Seabelo Senatla did.at The United States, a semifinalist at its home sevens last month, came from 14-0 down against Kenya at halftime to speed into a 21-14 lead, then just hung on. Kenya stole a defensive lineout near its own tryline with seconds to go, and worked the ball all the way to 10 meters out from the U.S. line when it conceded a game-ending penalty.