Samoan rugby sevens star Vaa Apelu Maliko has received great recognition after winning two awards at the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 in London on Sunday.
Scoring an incredible 50 tries across the 11 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 events, Apelu Maliko was named the recipient for the Gilbert Top Try Scorer award.
The 24-year-old superstar averaged 4.06 points per game in his 62 matches this season, finishing the 2023 Series with 252 points.
Apelu Maliko also won the DHL Impact Player award – for demonstrating the most consistency and delivering the greatest impact against four key criteria – carries, offloads, line-breaks and tackles.
The Samoan hooker made 41 breaks, 122 tackles, 55 offloads and 214 carries throughout the 11 events and helped his side lift the cup trophy as champions in Cape Town, South Africa in December.