Canada show ambition but Fiji too strong in Osaka

Fiji clinched their spot in the Pacific Nations Cup final with a 45-29 victory over Canada in Osaka on Saturday. While the defending champions were clearly the better side, the Maple Leafs exceeded expectations with some ambitious attacking play and will take credit from the four-try performance against the much-higher ranked side.

It was a poor start for the Canadians, as Kitione Salawa charged down the first clearance attempt from Jason Higgins to touch down in the corner with just a minute on the clock. Not long after Joji Nasova ripped through the line on halfway, finding Frank Lomani in support for an easy finish. Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula converted both tries from tough angles to make it 14-nil to the Fijians.

Canada finally got some momentum a couple minutes later, working their way into scoring position and Mason Flesch punched in under the posts to open the scoring for the men in red. The Canucks were pushing again but spilled the ball in contact, allowing Lomani to free Manasa Mataele. Armstrong-Ravula took the scoring pass in for Fiji’s third try, this time against the run of play.

McMullin landed a long-range penalty goal from wide right, but it was quickly forgotten as Peni Ravai burst on to a Tevita Ikanivere offload to claim another try for the Fijians. Sion Perry handed the Maple Leafs a boost of confidence not long before halftime, the flanker loitering out wide and stepping back inside the last man to make the score 26-17 at halftime.

The first 20 minutes of the second half were decidedly in Fiji’s favor. Ikanivere grabbed a try of his own when the Canadians ran out of defenders. Motikiai Murray was next on the board, the flanker barging in on the left side after an Armstrong-Ravula cross-kick found Nasova open on the right. Murray would secure a brace at the hour mark, breaking from a maul to stretch the lead to 45-17 after the conversion.

There would be no capitulation from the Canadians. Slick hands from Cooper Coats and McMullin sent Kyle Tremblay into the corner. and then a bit of individual brilliance from Flesch earned him a double. After hacking a loose ball down the pitch, the rangy blindside won the foot race, stood back up, and crashed over the line to make it 45-29 with 10 minutes to play.

A red card to Isoa Nasilasila for a dangerous clearout reduced Fiji to 14 men, and the were down another when Terio Tamani saw yellow after a deliberate knock-on. The Fijians held out, however, and denied any further scoring from the Canadians. A scrum penalty won deep in their own end allowed the ball to be kicked dead with time up on the clock.

Both teams travel to Tokyo for the second and final round of the PNC next weekend. Fiji take on the winner of Japan’s test against the USA, with the Canadians drawing the losing side.

 

SCORING

FIJI 45
Tries (7) – K. Salawa (1′), F. Lomani (5′), I. Armstrong-Ravula (23′), P. Ravai (31′), T. Ikanivere (45′), M. Murray 2 (50′, 60′)
Cons (5) – I. Armstrong-Ravula 5/7 (2′, 6′, 32′, 46′, 61′)
YC (1) – T. Tamani (78′)
RC (1) – I. Nasilasila (73′)

CANADA 29
Tries (4) – M. Flesch 2 (7′, 69′), S. Parry (35′), K. Tremblay (66′)
Cons (3) – T. McMullin 3/4 (8′, 36′, 70′)
Pens (1) – T. McMullin 1/1 (29′)

TEAMS

FIJI
1 Peni Ravai (17 Meli Tuni 67′), 2 Tevita Ikanivere (capt.) (16 Penaia Cakobau 67′), 3 Mesake Doge (18 Inoke Ravuiwasa 67′), 4 Mesake Vocevoce, 5 Temo Mayanavanua (19 Isoa Nasilasila 58′), 6 Kitione Salawa, 7 Motikiai Murray, 8 Isoa Tuwai (20 Joseva Tamani 61′), 9 Frank Lomani (21 Terio Tamani 70′), 10 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 11 Manasa Mataele (22 Caleb Muntz 61′), 12 Kalaveti Ravouvou (23 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre 58′), 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 14 Joji Nasova, 15 Isikeli Rabitu

CANADA
1 Sam Miller (17 Emerson Prior 51′), 2 Dewald Kotze (16 Austin Creighton 46′), 3 Kyle Steeves (18 Bryce Worden 29′), 4 Daragh Doyle, 5 Izzak Kelly (19 Barnaby Waddell 56′), 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Sion Parry (20 Ethan Fryer 63′), 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Jason Higgins (21 Stephen Webb 61′), 10 Spencer Jones (22 Cooper Coats 61′), 11 Jamie Armstrong, 12 Ben LeSage (23 Jason McIndoe 46′-58′), 13 Jacob Ince, 14 Kyle Tremblay, 15 Takoda McMullin (22 Cooper Coats 8′-15′)

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

OFFICIALS

Referee: Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Assistants: Koki Yamauchi (Japan) & Ibuki Tetsuka (Japan)
TMO: Graham Cooper (Australia)