Fiji remain atop the World Sevens Series despite having to settle for fifth place in Cape Town.
The defending series champions were upset 17-14 by France in the Cup quarter finals, having led 14-0 after five minutes.
They bounced back to beat Australia 38-19 and the USA 29-19 to claim the Plate title.
Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau says they let themselves down with their performance.
"We were disappointed to go out against France - we know we gave that game away. When we lost the main quarter final it was all about trying to get maximum points and how we react so we can stay on top of the series ladder points".
Hosts South Africa beat Argentina 29-14 in the Cup final to draw level on 35 points from the first two rounds but Fiji remain top on points differential.
Fiji had to settle for the Plate title at the Cape Town Sevens. Photo: World Rugby
Samoa had a tournament to forget - losing three of their six matches to end up 13th overall after claiming the Shield title.
Samoa finished a distant 13th at the Cape Town Sevens. Photo: World Rugby
Head coach Damian McGrath says they struggled for consistency.
"We set off really well against Canada and really put them to the sword and threw the game away against France, when it was a game that we could and should have won and we lost by a couple of points - we were top of the group at that point. Canada went on and beat New Zealand and drew with France, we played really poorly against New Zealand and ended up bottom of our group, which dropped us down into the lower reaches. [We] had a really poor start to the second day against Scotland then ran away with easy wins against Zimbabwe and Russia so it was a real mixed weekend for us, lots of highs and a couple of lows that were disappointing".
Samoa lost to France, New Zealand and Scotland at the Cape Town Sevens. Photo: World Rugby
The Manu's woes were compounded by injury, as the team finished the tournament with only seven fit players.
Francis Ieremia is facing Christmas in a South African hospital after breaking his leg during their pool match against France on day one.
Damian McGrath says the 23 year old's injury was all the more unfortunate, after he had recovered from a knock to the shoulder suffered in Dubai.
"The results pale into insignificance. It's been very serious and taken a delicate operation and we hope that Francis is going to make a recovery eventually but it's going to be a long long process. He's going to have to stay in hospital here in South Africa over Christmas, which is a real shame for him. He scored a couple of fantastic tries early on day one - he was a key player for us - so for him personally that's a real hammer blow".
Damian McGrath says the team also a has a few other players nursing injuries and is looking forward to a small break after close to four months of solid work.